Practice 1 • Remote Work vs. In-Office Work
Your professor is teaching a course on organizational behavior.
In your response, you should do the following:
- Express and support your opinion.
- Make a contribution to the discussion in your own words.
- An effective response will contain at least 100 words.
Professor Bennett
Many companies have shifted toward remote work since the pandemic, while others have asked employees to return to the office full-time. Supporters of remote work argue that it improves employee well-being and reduces commuting costs, while supporters of in-office work argue that face-to-face collaboration strengthens company culture. Should companies allow employees to work from home permanently, or should they require employees to return to the office full-time? Why do you think so?
Maria
I think companies should allow permanent remote work. Employees save hours of commuting time each week, which reduces stress and improves their overall productivity. Companies also save money on office space and utilities. As long as employees stay in contact through video calls and messaging apps, distance shouldn't prevent teams from working together effectively.
Derek
I disagree. In-person work builds stronger relationships between coworkers, which leads to better teamwork and creativity. Spontaneous conversations in the office often lead to new ideas that wouldn't happen over a video call. New employees especially benefit from being physically present, since they can observe how experienced coworkers handle daily tasks.
Nothing is uploaded — this downloads your response as a .txt file to your computer.