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The Case for Letting People Work from Home Forever
Article

The Case for Letting People Work from Home Forever

Do you want happier, productive, more engaged, and more fulfilled employees and co-workers? Well, you should campaign to let them work remotely. Here’s why.

Jaclyn Greenberg
Wired, 2021
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Post-pandemic, will you go back to the office or continue working from home? When her son was born with disabilities, Jaclyn Greenberg made the hard choice to quit her office job. In this article, she muses about what might have been, and what could still be for employees, now that the COVID-19 pandemic has proved the viability of remote work. While some extroverts might insist upon going back to the office, most employees, it seems, prefer flexible options. Greenberg offers a compelling argument for the benefits of remote work.

Summary

Strict office schedules force people to choose between career and family obligations.

Too often, companies expect their employees to spend 40 hours a week inside the confines of an office building. When this expectation conflicts with family responsibilities, oftentimes parents must press pause on their careers. If a child has special needs, for example, one parent may end up exiting the workforce entirely. With each employee who leaves the workforce for family reasons, companies lose years of invaluable experience. 

Nearly 70% of full-time employees worked from home during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, proving that remote work is a viable option for many. Employers should bear that fact in mind when making their post-pandemic plans. Granting flexible or remote working arrangements would permit both parents to stay in the workforce, even when ...

About the Author

Jaclyn Greenberg is a freelance writer. Her work has appeared in the Huffington Post, Parents magazine and Wired, among other publications.

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