NEW WORKING ARRANGEMENTS
During the Covid pandemic, many governments made new laws that required companies to shut their offices. As a result, hundreds of millions of office workers started working from home. They generally liked the new arrangement because they had flexible work hours and could spend more time with their families. So when offices opened again, many employees did not want to go back for the whole workweek. Instead, they asked their companies to allow them to continue working from home all the time, or at least a few days a week.(lines 1–6)
Companies that agreed to these new working arrangements have also benefited from them. "Fewer people go to work every day, so desks can be shared and less office space is needed. This has saved companies a lot of money on rent and electricity," says Lucy Grant, editor of Business News. "There are also companies that have kept their offices closed, and their employees work only from home. Since it doesn't matter where the workers are living, these companies can recruit people to work online from anywhere in the world. That's a huge advantage because in many countries today, it's very hard to find well-trained workers."(lines 7–13)
However, not everyone is pleased with having to work from home, even part of the week. Some workers complain that conditions at home are not good enough. For example, they may not have a very good computer to work on. Many also miss the contact with other workers. "They want to have coffee and chat with their friends," says Grant. "They also like to discuss ideas or problems with the person sitting near them. And managers say that team members do better work when they are all in the same room."(lines 14–19)
Working at home has also created another, very different problem. "Many companies think that when employees work from home, they don't spend enough time doing their job," says Grant. "Therefore, these companies often put special programs on their workers' home computers to find out when they take breaks. Of course, people hate to be watched in this way. So I think they will all eventually agree that coming to the office every day is better than working from home."(lines 20–24)