How remote working has changed the way we work

Welcome to another edition of English that works: developing communication skills for everyday interactions. We hope you have been enjoying this series. A good way of extending your learning is to teach what you learned to someone else. Try that and let us know how it went!

Remote working used to be a distant dream. Most officegoers imagined a time when they wouldn’t have to commute through traffic and had flexible working hours. The pandemic has forced everyone into a ‘stay-at-home’, remote working scenario.

Suddenly, it’s all a dream come true! But is it? I asked some of my friends and colleagues about how they feel after having worked from home for over six months. They have highlighted both the advantages and disadvantages of working from home.

Advantages

I would spend at least two hours stuck in traffic on a daily basis, I now spend that time reading or gardening. I am all for working from home.

I would always struggle to find time to watch a movie or play games with my children. Working from home has clearly made space for doing meaningful activities with my children.

I used to find it difficult to concentrate on tasks at a stretch from 9 am to 5 pm. I can complete my tasks more flexibly now, taking breaks when I need. This works so much better!

Disadvantages

It would be easy to get work done when teams were physically present. Now it’s a big challenge to communicate tasks and ensure work is on track.

We used to have a post-lunch chai meeting at a tea stall just across the road from the office. These meetings were so refreshing, we would talk shop a bit, joke and laugh! I miss this social connect.

I used to be able to ‘disconnect’ from work. We all had to physically leave the office at some point. Although some of us had work at the back of our minds, we would still be able to have some ‘off time’. Work seems never ending now.

Look at the words in bold. You can use used to or would to talk about past actions that were habits or routine tasks e.g. having chai every afternoon.

If you notice, both are followed by a verb in its main form without a ‘to’.

You can use these at interviews to talk about your work experience, describing processes or about how you would manage teams. Make a note of these in your journal.

Think about how remote working has affected your life. Share your ideas with us at [e-mail].

Radhika Gholkar