Home Working: The Lonely Reality

 

Working at home rather than in an office has received considerable attention from people in business, with some reports suggesting that places where people work together will soon be a thing of the past. However, a recent survey carried out by an international property consultant, Larry Newson, finds that only eight per cent of office staff actually work from home more than one day a week. The percentage has increased little over the last few years, and only 17% of all office workers said they would want to work from home regularly.

Separate findings, from an insurance company, stress one of the main areas of concern. Paul Orchard, the firm's senior partner, says, 'People enjoy meeting other people at work, and working at home is a lonely alternative'. One bank employee who took part in home working found that this loneliness lowered the quality of her work, as she was unable to concentrate. Other problems she experienced included computer failures, which meant she had to go into the office anyway. Joe Seer, in his research for a trade union, reported: 'I studied one particular home worker from a public relations firm. She would go into the office for meetings because of loneliness and to get help from other staff, but would find that they thought she was just avoiding work. They considered home working the lazy way of doing things, and this caused several arguments.’

Some of these problems may be caused simply by the fact that such patterns of work are unfamiliar. That does not help people such as one publishing worker, who was allowed to work from home, but then had to accept a £2000 pay cut. Another employee, a senior marketing consultant, had a whole list of complaints, including no assistance with the extra cost of electricity and the phone, and being contacted 24 hours a day, even in the evenings and at weekends. Home working may seem an attractive idea, but when faced with problems like these, it is not surprising that relatively few people actually choose to do it.

VI. Письменно выполните следующие задания к тексту.

• Выберите правильный вариант ответа на вопросы 1-4.

 

1 What did Larry Newson's survey contain?

A numbers of people working at home

B main reasons why people dislike working at home

C suggestions for ways of increasing numbers of home workers

 

2 Recently, the number of people working at home has

A fallen very little.

B stayed exactly the same.

C risen only slightly.

 

3 How was the bank employee affected by loneliness?

A She did not enjoy her work.

B Her work was not as good as before.

C She did not want to contact her office.

4 The marketing consultant wants more

A help with his expenses.

B contact with his office.

C technical support for his work.

 

• Соотнесите проблемы под цифрами 5 - 8 с людьми (A – G), которые столкнулись

С ними.

 

5 a reduction in salary A property consultant

6 equipment breaking down B insurance company partner

7 disagreements with colleagues C bank employee

8 interrupted leisure time D trade union researcher

E public relations worker

F publishing worker

G marketing consultant

 

Topic for Discussion

My Future Speciality

 

I am going to become a specialist in computer technologies - a computer engineer.

Computer industry is developing so fast, that it comprises almost all spheres of professional life. No business now is possible without computers. This is especially true about automated manufacturing of products and robotics. Computer control of automated production opens new horizons for the cheap and quality production of goods. Information is now generated, transmitted, received, and stored electronically through computer networks on a scale unprecedented in history, and there is every indication that the explosive rate of growth in this field will continue.