Telecommuting refers to workers doing their jobs from home for part of each week and communicating with their office using computer technology.
Telecommuting is growing in many countries and is expected to be common for most office workers in the coming decades.
How do you think society will be affected by the growth of telecommuting?
Model Answer:
The spread of telecommuting is sure to have far-reaching effects on society. By itself, telecommuting refers to offiice workers spending much of their time working from home and using electronic technologies to communicate with their employers. The broader implications of telecommuting, however, may involve changes to corporate structure, workers lifestyles and even urban planning.
The most obvious changes may be apparent in the `normal offices of companies, governments and other organisations. If even half the working week is spent telecommuting from home, then we would initially expect many empty desks in the offiice. As offices grow smaller, workers coming in for the day would be expected to share desks with their absent colleagues. This, in turn, may affect the social atmosphere of an organisation, however, as less social contact with ones colleagues could harm morale and loyalty.
For the individual office worker, telecommuting would mean spending more time at home. For a parent with young children, this may be a blessing. Moreover, many telecommuters would be able to work the hours they wished: having a nap in the afternrnoon, for example, but working some hours in the evening. One substantial benefit for all telecommuting workers is that there will be no need to travel to work, allowing more free time.
The structure of urban life is also likely to be affected by telecommuting. We would expect to see fewer cars on the road during peak hours and, eventually, a smaller concentration of offiices in cities central business districts. In short, people will have less reason to travel to city centres from outlying areas. As more people work and live in the same location, shops and cultural events will likely relocate themselves out of the city centre.
In sum, telecommuting will serve not only to change the way we work but also the way we live.
Some people say that computers have made life easier and more convenient. Other people say that computers have made life more complex and stressful.
What is your opinion? Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.
Model Answer:
Some people say that the invention of computers is one of the greatest humankinds inventions. However, other people think that computers make their life more stressful. I agree with those people who think that computers brought many benefits and play a very important role in our modern life.
First of all, every company nowadays uses a computer to store its data and make different kinds of operations. It is very difficult to imagine life without computers. A company would have to store millions of papers and documents. Moreover, a customer would have to wait hours to check his balance or get a piece of information about his transactions at his bank, while an employee was looking trough those papers. Another important aspect of this is that people are able to type all their information, make corrections, print or send documents using computers. It makes life much easier. One can spend the rest of the time watching TV with his family or working on something new.
We use computers every day sometimes even not knowing it. When we go to a store and use our credit cards many computers process our information and perform transactions. When we need to get some cash we use money access machines that are computerized too.
Second of all, computers provided a great means of communication ? the Internet. I think it is the easiest and cheapest way to get in touch with relatives, friends, business colleagues, etc. Nowadays the world becomes smaller and smaller. When I was a little girl, I could not imagine that it would be possible to communicate with people from all around the world in so easy way. A person can get latest news, become friends with someone from another country, find his old friends, ask for a piece of advice, etc.
Finally, in addition to these practical benefits people can shop without leaving their house. They just use an Internet access, a computer and their cards to make a payment. It is kind of difficult to imagine that a few years ago people had to spend their time in lines buying tickets. Now, a person can choose a destination, company, date and time and get tickets delivered to his door. I think it is amazing.
To sum up, I believe that computers made our lives easier. They change our attitude towards life. I think with the invention of computers people became closer and friendlier.
