A 2017 Gallup poll reported that 43% of employed Americans had spent at least some time working remotely, and the US Census data released in 2018 reported 5.2% of US workers being based entirely at home.
Even as working from home (WFH) becomes relatively commonplace, a new form of remote work is emerging: working from anywhere (WFA), in which employees can live and work where they choose, typically within a specific country, but in some cases, anywhere in the world with a reliable Internet connection. While many companies are just starting to consider allowing employees to work from anywhere, developed WFA programs can be found at firms such as Akamai Technologies Inc. and SAP SE.
Employees value the option to work remotely. A 2017 study even found that the average worker was willing to accept 8% less pay for the option to work from home. And with a work-from-anywhere policy, employers add even more value to employees by granting geographic flexibility. There is the significant difference: while a WFH employee can choose to pick the kids up from school or spend the lunch hour walking the dog, a WFA employee can do all of those and also relocate closer to aging parents or to a location with a lower cost of living.
In our experience, however, managers often worry about remote employees working less, multitasking, or mixing personal responsibilities with work. There are also concerns that allowing employees to work from anywhere could decrease communication and collaboration (合作) among co-workers and might limit the informal learning that typically happens in the office.
But one 2015 study by a Chinese travel agency found that when call center employees were shifted to working from home, their productivity increased by an average of 13%, apparently due to a reduction in break time and sick days combined with a more comfortable working environment. This finding raises the question: could employees in a work-from-anywhere program also benefit from similar productivity increases?
【小题1】What does the underlined word “emerging” in the second paragraph mean?| A．Coming into existence. | B．Getting more popular. |
| C．Coming to an end. | D．Drawing attention. |
| A．Picking the kids up from school. | B．Relocating closer to aging parents. |
| C．Spending the lunch hour walking the dog. | D．Working more effectively. |
| A．It is more relaxing. | B．It is more flexible. |
| C．It is more productive. | D．It is more stressful. |
| A．What’s the difference between WFA and WFH? |
| B．Do you prefer WFA or WFH? |
| C．Is it time to let employees work from anywhere? |
| D．Who are suitable for WFA and WFH? |
