Writing – Essay

240-280 words

An end to commuting?

Cars and better transport infrastructure have created a society in which very few people live near their
place of work. Consequently, numerous people spend around two hours every day commuting to
work. For many people a daily commute can take up to six hours, while others choose to live in one
location Monday to Friday and another at the weekend to avoid this. Advances in telecommunications
could result in these commutes no longer being necessary as people are able to work from home.
Ultimately, this could significantly save people time and reduce the levels of stress associated with
commuting.

Office life

Telecommunications technology permits a greater number of people to work from home or to work in
locations remote from other staff of the same company. Many people now do not have one fixed
location for work and often work on the move. Unfortunately, this can have a negative impact on staff
motivation. The sense of team spirit with a common purpose is something many people find
pleasurable. This camaraderie and positive atmosphere helps companies to recruit and retain good
members of staff and by underestimating this factor companies could be losing out on the best
employees.

An end to commuting?

Cars and better transport infrastructure have created a society in which very few people live
near their place of work. Consequently, numerous people spend around two hours every day
commuting to work.

What leads to more and more people to work in places that exceed the boundary of their
residential community, are the improvements and advances achieved in mass transit systems.

Advances in telecommunications could result in these commutes no longer being necessary as

people are able to work from home. Ultimately, this could significantly save people time and
reduce the levels of stress associated with commuting.

It is the opportunity of remote working what accounts for the lack of demand for public
transport and therefore has a potentially huge impact on not only time-saving benefits but also
on reducing stress suffering.

Office life

Telecommunications technology permits a greater number of people to work from home or to

work in locations remote from other staff of the same company.

Technological advances in communication triggers the considerable increase of working off-site

employees.
This camaraderie and positive atmosphere helps companies to recruit and retain good
members of staff and by underestimating this factor companies could be losing out on the best
employees.

What is taking away trump-card employees from companies is the common-sense

misconception about companionship and congenial atmosphere that actually give rise to
maintaining superb staff-members.

Essay

Over the past decades, there have been major advances in technology enabling new kinds of
communication at distances that would have been unthinkable generations ago. There is no
doubt that telecommunications can benefit humankind but things could also go very wrong.
These two extracts have contrasting views on the matter.

According to the first text, what leads to more and more people working in places that exceed
the boundary of their residential community are the improvements and advances achieved in
mass transit systems. Nonetheless, the tremendous amount of innovations going on recently
carry within a great deal of modifications in day-to-day life. A 180-degree turn in
communication has been the explosion of digital technology meaning that distances have been
shorten allowing the development of video conferencing, e-mail and instant messaging, among
others. It is the opportunity of remote working what accounts for the lack of demand for public
transport and therefore has a potentially huge impact on not only time-saving benefits but also
on reducing stress suffering. While it is true that this enhancement could help people with
living healthier and stress-free lives, it must not be forgotten that on the flip side, home
workers might feel an unwelcome strain on account of the blur between their jobs and
household tasks.

The second passage contends similar ideas in terms of technological advances in

communication triggering a considerable increase of working off-site employees. Having said
that, it also provides rich insight into how companies are adversely affected by them. What is
taking away trump-card employees from companies is the common-sense misconception
about companionship and congenial atmosphere that actually give rise to maintaining superb
staff-members. One of the main risks in this misunderstanding is that support and team-spirit
are essential for people to work efficiently.

Taking everything into consideration, I would say that although technology has been a
quantum leap for communication and moreover has put companies light years ahead of where
they were some time ago, it is also a fact that it profoundly disturbs people and their
fundamental social skills. Only if technology is used responsibly will it be of benefit to mankind,
rather than a ticking time bomb of atomic and very self-contained individuals.