在云端 Up in the air 精讲之三

第一页：片段欣赏
第二页：巧学口语
第三页：小小翻译家
第四页：文化一瞥

娜塔莉开发的远程裁员系统其实是基于一种远程办公的理念。那么，什么是远程办公呢？它又有什么优点和劣势呢？

Telecommuting：远程办公

Telecommuting, e-commuting, e-work, telework, working from home (WFH), or working at home (WAH) is a work arrangement in which employees enjoy flexibility in working location and hours. In other words, the daily commute to a central place of work is replaced by telecommunication links. Many work from home, while others, occasionally also referred to as nomad workers or web commuters utilize mobile telecommunications technology to work from coffee shops or myriad other locations.

Benefits:

Telecommuting offers benefits to communities, employers, and employees.

For communities, telecommuting can offer fuller employment (by increasing the employ-ability of proximal or circumstantially marginalized groups.

For companies, telecommuting expands the talent pool, reduce the spread of illness, reduces costs, increases productivity, reduces their carbon footprint and energy usage, offers an inexpensive method of complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), reduces turnover and absenteeism, and improves employee morale, offers a continuity of operations strategy, improve their ability to handle business across multiple timezones, and hasten their cultural adaptability.

For individuals, telecommuting, or more specifically, work from home arrangements, improves work-life balance, reduces their carbon footprint and fuel usage, frees up the equivalent of 15 to 25 workdays a year—time they would have otherwise spent commuting, and saves between $4,000 and $21,000 per year in travel and work-related costs (not including daycare).

Telework flexibility is a desirable perquisite for employees. A 2008 Robert Half International Financial Hiring Index, a survey of 1,400 CFOs by recruitment firm Robert Half International, indicated that 13% consider telework the best recruiting incentive today for accounting professionals. In earlier surveys, 33% considered telework the best recruiting incentive, and half considered it second best.

Concerns:

Employers largest concerns about telecommuting are: fear of loss of control; 75% of managers say they trust their employees, but a third say they'd like to be able to see them, just to be sure.

For employees, teleworking can negatively affect a person's career. A recent survey of 1,300 executives from 71 countries indicated that respondents believe that people who telework were less likely to get promoted. Companies rarely promote people into leadership roles who haven't been consistently seen and measured.