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How will coronavirus change the world?
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Coronavirus will end office culture

Fear of infection is compelling organizations to close offices and operate virtually. We will discover productivity gains in virtual working, and workers will migrate away from cities.
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The Argument

Since coronavirus began to spread, a huge amount more people are working remotely as a precautionary measure. Videoconferencing in the US has doubled, and large companies like Twitter and Facebook are encouraging or requiring people to work from home even without any workers having the virus.[1] This is likely to continually increase as the virus spreads, with even more workplaces putting measures in place in case everyone needs to work from home. As this increases, it is likely that it will have lasting effects even after the threat of coronavirus is gone. It is likely that after an extended period of everyone working from home, many workplaces will permanently increase the amount of work that is done this way as it proves to be productive.[1] Working from home has several documented benefits, like decreased stress and increased sense of well-being for workers.[2] As workplaces try a new way of working, it is likely that many will not go back. Coronavirus may be the push that makes remote work the norm.[3]

Counter arguments

Remote working has been imposed due to lock-down restrictions from many governments. Although some companies, especially in the advanced technology sector, have already announced more flexible policies upon return to work, there have been consistent calls to return back to 'normal' work in the office. Arguments that are being made against the Remote Working idea, are linked to diminished productivity, diminished creativity due to less interaction at work, but also due to concerns of the impact on the local economies of people not travelling to work anymore. [4]

Premises

[P1] As coronavirus spreads, more and more workplaces will implement work from home policies as a cautionary measure. [P2] Many workplaces are likely to find this is beneficial for their workers, and increase the amount of remote working as a long-term measure.

Rejecting the premises

References

  1. https://www.axios.com/coronavirus-future-economy-politics-f838d8f1-09e2-48cd-afa7-1481d2044e21.html
  2. https://fortune.com/2020/03/10/coronavirus-remote-flexible-work-from-home/
  3. https://www.vox.com/recode/2020/2/26/21153343/coronavirus-covid-19-work-from-home-remote-pandemic
  4. https://www.huffingtonpost.it/entry/beppe-sala-basta-con-lo-smart-working-torniamo-a-lavorare_it_5eecae2bc5b6c1f6518b357b
This page was last edited on Thursday, 3 Sep 2020 at 16:17 UTC

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