Social effects of Telecommuting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Social effects of Telecommuting - Essay Example This means that home is no longer seen to be a refuge from a hard day’s work, but an extension of the workplace. Such situations may be problematic for some individuals because it leads to an increase in work related stress and other psychological conditions. In addition, the traditional way through which people worked and interacted at the office is lost, since the close proximity and interpersonal interactions that could be achieved at the workplace is lost. Telecommuting encourages the isolation of an individual from any form of social life and this may be detrimental to such a person’s mental health (Burger, et al 39). However, despite this isolation, by telecommuting, individuals save plenty of time which they can use working, hence an increase in productivity. In addition, with the development of new information technologies every day, the aspect of complete isolation will be completely lost in a few years, since there will be a renewal of interaction between work ers through video technologies. Such technologies will ensure that workers are able to see each other without any need for physical interaction, meaning that most of the work related activities will still be able to be done in the comfort of one’s home (Dombrow 685).Moreover, telecommuting brings about changes in the working patterns of individuals, especially those who have other obligations besides work. Among these are parents, who, because of their ability to work at home, get to spend more time with their children., something that is often beneficial for the latter (Iscan and Naktiyok 53). In addition, telecommuting enables those individuals who would otherwise not have been allowed in the workforce, in most cases disabled people, to be able to work from the comfort of their own homes, and this ensures that their levels of self-esteem due to the work they are doing is high. Furthermore, the feeling of isolation that such individuals may have is often removed due to their not having to go through the cumbersome effort of having to get to the workplace. Instead, the easy access to video calls and other technologies enables them to be able to communicate easily with their fellow workers. Moreover, telecommuting gives individuals the opportunity to continue working way past the age when they would have thought of retiring, because they do not have to spend plenty of time getting to work, instead working from home. Therefore, it has ensured that many people past their retirement age have remained productive and they are not under any pressure to stop working. This has created a situation where the knowledge and skills of individuals with years of experience have been retained, not only for the benefit of the company for which they work, but also for the