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Technological
advances have helped us to save time and effort in many areas
of life. At work we already appreciate such benefits
as computerisation and fast communication via e-mail and
satellites. There is now a growing trend towards moving technology
into our
home and staying there to work. A recent survey in the UK
reported that one in five of the working population now spends
at least
part of the working week at home, "teleworking". But how
attractive and feasible is teleworking really? What are the advantages of teleworking? British
Telecom, an employer who actively encourages its workers to
work from home, claims that people who work from home are up
to 20% more productive than those in the office. Having greater
control over their working environment means that teleworkers
are
generally less stressed. A report in 1994 found that teleworkers
were considered to be more productive, reliable and loyal than
on-site staff. The teleworker saves money on office clothes
and on travelling costs (the average office-based worker spends
480
hours per year commuting, the equivalent of 60 working days).
The employer saves money, too; one company, Digital, who has
one quarter
of its workforce teleworking, calculated that the cost of setting
up an office at home for an employee, approximately £3,500,
was recouped within the first year. And considering the 19.8
billion gallons of exhaust fumes every day produced from commuters'
cars,
there are also gains for society in general. Why is there a trend towards teleworking? British
industry is changing. For instance, screen-based service
industries have been replacing the manufacturing industries.
There has also been a noticeable shift towards self-employment
and people
working on short-term contracts. A lot of work is now contracted
out to freelance workers. In the USA, environmental awareness
has played a role. The US Clean Air Act requires major
employers to
reduce the number of business journeys staff make into the
office. As a consequence, giant companies such as AT&T
and IBM have introduced an element of teleworking. Constantly improving technology supports this trend towards teleworking.
Thanks to new software coming onto the market, the average PC will
be able to automate phone dialling and act as an intelligent information
centre for voice messages, electronic mail and faxes. The future Even though there are disadvantages, such as teleworkers feeling
isolated, lonely and frustrated, it seems that teleworking is here
to stay. Indeed, it has been estimated that by the end of 1997,
2.25 million people in the UK will be working from home for at
least three days a week. The figure will reach 5 million by the
end of the century. Reading for meaning When you read an article, you can often guess the words you do
not know from the context. Find words or expressions in the above article which have
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