REMOTE WORKING

A DREAM JOB?
Warm-up:

‘Remote working’ means working away from a traditional office, e.g. at home. Work in pairs. Do you
agree or disagree with these statements about remote working? Explain why.

1. Working remotely is more productive than working in the office.

2. Most people would like to work remotely, if they could.
3. If I worked from home, I would miss my colleagues.

Ex.1. Reading for the main idea

You’re going to read about remote working. First skim-read the article quickly to get a general idea of
the content and the 1organization. Which of these topics is not mentioned in the article?

• Benefits to workers • Negative effects • Solutions

• Benefits to employers • Popularity • Types of
stress

Ex.2. Reading for detail

These sentences have been removed from the article. Read the article again and match each sentence
with a numbered gap.

a. And, with no visible body language it is tricky to communicate our true meanings.

b. Employers need to put the right structures in place, such as scheduled video calls and regular
team-building meet ups.

c. One significant issue was the management of virtual working.

d. Some multinationals have all staff working remotely, with employees situated all over the
world.

e. The benefits are important.

 How remote working can increase stress
Adapted from theconversation.com, October 11, 2019, by Stephanie Russell

1. Remote working is becoming more popular than ever. routine information, virtual workers can feel treated
A Swiss study found that 70% of professionals work as a cog in a machine, rather than an essential part of
remotely at least one day a week, while 53% work the team. Such a leadership approach can worsen the
remotely for at least half of the week. sense of isolation that comes with working remotely
(1) New technology makes all this possible. While and can contribute to virtual workplace stress.
there are certainly benefits, there are also pitfalls. As
remote working becomes the new normal for many, 7. University lecturers and students who work virtually
it’s important that companies adapt and put the right report feelings of isolation, loneliness and being unable
policies in place to ensure their employees feel part of to "switch off", as well as a lack of social support.
the team and don’t burn out. 8. (4) Interviewees said a lack of feedback
2. Nearly 70% of millennials would be more likely to from line managers and senior colleagues gave them no
choose an employer who offered remote working. benchmark to judge progress, which led to increased
(2) Employees value the flexibility it feelings of anxiety and a concern as to whether they
gives them, particularly if they have childcare were "up to standard".
commitments. People also appreciate escaping long 9. When it comes to work, there are two kinds of stress –
commutes and avoiding office distractions. the good kind and the bad kind. The Yerkes Dodson Law
3. But there are also concerns that people’s mental (drawn up by psychologists Robert Yerkes and John
health and well-being can take a hit when working Dodson) points out that stress can be productive up to a
remotely. In the UK, businesses lose £100m every year point and then it results in reduced productivity. Being
due to workplace stress. Research shows that always unable to report being stressed (or being uncomfortable
being accessible by technology while working remotely doing so), is detrimental as pressure will eventually
leads to the blurring of work and non-work hours, outweigh an individual’s ability to cope over time. In
particularly if you work from home. A 2017 United contrast, one recent study found that colleagues who
Nations report found that 41% of remote workers spend just 15 minutes socialising and sharing their
reported high stress levels, compared to just 25% of feelings of stress had a 20% increase in performance.
office workers. 10. The right kind of communication is key to overcoming the
4. One of the reasons for this could be the "out of sight, difficulties of virtual working.
out of mind" mentality that’s commonplace toward 11. (5) Bosses need to lead by example and
remote workers, which leads to a lack of trust, feelings create a culture where those outside the office feel
of being an outsider and a tendency for valued.
people to think their colleagues are talking negatively 12. Equally, virtual workers need to think about what makes
about them behind their back. One study of 1,100 them productive, happy and successful in everyday life,
workers found that the 52% who worked from home and try to replicate this in a remote setting – for
were more likely to feel left out and mistreated, as example, taking a walk at lunch time, going to the gym,
well as unable to deal with conflict between ringing a friend or reading a book.
themselves and colleagues. 13. If the future of work is heading towards more virtual
5. Navigating sensitive territory in a virtual team is an working, then it is not something we can avoid. Instead
essential skill. Emails can be misinterpreted as being we should implement ways of managing the stress
rude or too direct. (3) associated with it, while enjoying the benefits.
6. In a virtual environment managers may focus too
much on completing tasks and too little on
relationships. With more emphasis on deadlines and
Ex.3. Vocabulary I

Match each word from the article with its meaning. Use the context of the article to help you –
the words are in bold in the text.

1. pitfalls a. a likeliness to take action or occur the same way many times
2. burn out b. a typical attitude, or way of thinking
3. millennials c. being alone or cut off from social interaction with others
4. mentality d. copy, reproduce
5. commonplace e. frequent and not seen as unusual
6. tendency f. harmful or damaging
7. isolation g. have more significance or a stronger effect than another factor
8. detrimental h. people who were born in the 1980s-2000s
9. outweigh i. problems that are likely to occur in a particular situation
10. replicate j. work too hard and become exhausted

Ex.4. Vocabulary II
Match each phrase from the article with the best meaning.
1. ... people’s mental health and well-being can take a hit when working remotely.

a. become complicated

b. make someone angry

c. suffer

2. ... working remotely leads to the blurring of work and non-work hours, particularly if you work
from home.
a. asking someone to work overtime

b. a lack of a clear boundary

c. saying something without thinking

3. Navigating sensitive territory in a virtual team is an essential skill.

a. communicating a plan clearly

b. saying and doing the right thing in a difficult situation

c. taking your team in the right direction

4. ... virtual workers can feel like a cog in a machine, rather than an essential part of the team.

a. the opposite of an individual with feelings

b. they have an important role

c. they have to work without stopping

5. ... lack of feedback from line managers and senior colleagues gave them no benchmark to judge
progress, which led to increased feelings of anxiety ...

a. support to do their job

b. sense of teamwork

c. way of measuring how well they were doing

Ex.5. Reflect and discuss

Look back at the sentences you discussed in the first part of the lesson. Have you changed your
mind about whether you agree or disagree with any of the statements? Explain your ideas in pairs.

Ex.6. Activate

Imagine you have successfully interviewed for a job with a company that requires you to work
remotely at least several days a week. You have some concerns about this arrangement. Write
three to five questions to ask your new employer about how they handle remote working, using
vocabulary from the exercises in this lesson.

Example: What pitfalls have you experienced with remote workers in the past, and how have you
addressed these issues?