sample essays of IELTS

29 Telecommuting

Telecommuting-- substituting the computer for the trip to the job ----
has been hailed as a solution to all kinds of problems related to office
work.

For workers it promises freedom from the office, less time wasted in
traffic, and help with child-care conflicts. For management,
telecommuting helps keep high performers on board, minimizes tardiness
and absenteeism by eliminating commutes, allows periods of solitude for
high-concentration tasks, and provides scheduling flexibility. In some
areas, such as Southern California and Seattle, Washington, local
governments are encouraging companies to start telecommuting programs in
order to reduce rush-hour congestion and improve air quality.

But these benefits do not come easily. Making a telecommuting program
work requires careful planning and an understanding of the differences
between telecommuting realities and popular images.

Many workers are seduced by rosy illusions of life as a telecommuter. A
computer programmer from New York City moves to the tranquil Adirondack
Mountains and stays in contact with her office via computer. A manager
comes in to his office three days a week and works at home the other
two. An accountant stays home to care for her sick child; she hooks up
her telephone modern connections and does office work between calls to
the doctor.

These are powerful images, but they are a limited reflection of reality.
Telecommuting workers soon learn that it is almost impossible to
concentrate on work and care for a young child at the same time. Before
a certain age, young children cannot recognize, much less respect, the
necessary boundaries between work and family. Additional child support
is necessary if the parent is to get any work done.

Management too must separate the myth from the reality. Although the
media has paid a great deal of attention to telecommuting in most cases
it is the employees situation, not the availability of technology that
precipitates a telecommuting arrangement.

That is partly why, despite the widespread press coverage, the number of
companies with work-at-home programs or policy guidelines remains small.