Teleworking: the Working Style of the Future?
Teleworking provides a number of advantages and disadvantages both for the employer and the employee. Use the key words provided in the sections of the chart to formulate what the advantages and disadvantages of teleworking are:
For the employer:
Advantages |
Disadvantages |
… provide office space |
…computer equipment and telecommunication links… |
…interrupt |
…monitor the teleworkers' performance |
…stress and absence due to illness. |
…the security of the information |
For the employee:
Advantages |
Disadvantages |
… travel to work… |
…feel isolated … social interaction |
…a car or public transport… |
… distractions in the home environment… |
…flexible working… |
…no space at home for teleworking |
… balance between work and family life |
…lack the self-discipline |
OVER TO YOU:
Would you prefer to do teleworking or have a regular job in a place away from home? Why? Why not?
Future of Work
T
he
labour market is always changing. Many of our great-grandparents
worked in agriculture before mechanized farming set in. Our
grandparents worked in industry actually producing things. Our
parents are now employed in air-conditioned offices with faxes and
computers and flat screens processing information, sending emails and
taking part in video conferences.
OVER TO YOU:
Where did your great-grandparents and grandparents work?
Is the working life of your parents different from that of their parents?
Robots and machines control factories now, tractors replaced farmers and ATMs replaced bank cashiers. A lot of workers have already been replaced by machines and lost their jobs. Accountants, secretaries, customer service advisors, all sorts of administrative staff are being replaced. And this is only the start. The computers that we need today may not need us tomorrow. So, in a world like this what are your career prospects? What professions are safe from the robot takeover?
OVER TO YOU:
Which professions do you think will never disappear?
Which professions may disappear in the future?
The good news is that software programs and machines can't do every job. For example, jobs which require great creativity: writers, fashion designers, musicians, actors, inventors, games designers, musicians, inventors, games designers and people working in marketing or research and development. It's true that not everyone has the skill to work in these fields. But that doesn't mean you will be unemployed if you do not have creative temperament. In the future there will be jobs for you: jobs which require emotional skills; where people work at being people. The information economy of today is going to make way for the care economy of tomorrow. Machines don't care. Machines can't care. So they can't replace people in professions where care is what counts.
OVER TO YOU:
What professions represent the care economy?
Do you think teachers will be replaced by robots or software in the future?
Doctors and nurses will always find work because they possess the interpersonal skills needed in the care economy. They have to listen: they have to make their patients feel good; they have to care; they have to be human. Or jobs in personal services: hairdressers, for example. Hairdressers don't just cut hair: they also listen to their clients, offer advice and discuss the latest news and gossip over a nice cup of tea. I can't imagine having a machine cut my hair, can you? And there are many more professions: teachers, beauty therapists, dentists, psychologists, gardeners, fitness coaches etc. who can't be replaced by machines. These professions offer rewarding careers. In the future, flexibility will be vital and lifelong learning a reality.
OVER TO YOU:
Do you agree with all the ideas of the author?
What is the idea of lifelong learning?