To Telework or Not to Telework

Global warming isn’t what we think it is. The Earth is warming up as a result of various
natural processes and we can’t stop them. But what we can do is reduce our waste and stop
contaminating to slow down this process that has been accelerated by humans. There are
multiple ways to do it, including working from home. Not all jobs can be done from home,
though, but a great portion of it may help with traffic jam. Less people heading to their
office by car means less cars and thus less air pollution caused by gasoline.

There has been a large variety of concerns regarding if working from home could be a
viable way to improve production. It has been scientifically proved that working from home
can have a great impact on people’s mental and physical health in many ways; stress
reduction, a better sleep schedule, less time wasted on commuting, flexible hours, more
time spent with family, saving money on transport and many more. People managing their
work schedule at home are proved to be more productive and focused because they feel
more relaxed working at their own pace without a certain amount of hours limiting them or
having their bosses constantly look over their shoulders. For some people that know how
teleworking really is, loneliness, distractions at home or bad communication with team
mates may be a problem, taking more than half the percentage of struggles of teleworking
in a recent report by Buffer and AngelList; but in most cases that can be solved with
weekly reunions or group chats. In the same study, 97% of the surveyed would recommend
working from home and only an 11% would like to telework less often.
Commuting is one of the main benefits of working from home, not only reducing stress but
also traffic jams all over the city. Having fewer cars in the streets, not only means seizing
the space with bikes or buses, but also less air pollution. There are four major car
pollutants: carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides and particulate matter; these
emissions increase the carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases levels in the atmosphere,
contributing to the stretching of the ozone hole and causing harm to humans all over the
world. A good example of how high and dangerous this kind of pollution can be is what
happens when there are no cars in the streets. This quarantine has proven to be a savior for
the environment; the contamination levels around the world have been greatly reduced and
the lack of car pollutants have decreased, or in some cases disappeared, the smog layer over
many cities.

If more companies gave their employees the possibility of working from home they could
reduce their expenses by having a smaller office or just a meeting room and have their
personnel boost their own lives and help the planet at the same time.