Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions.
Remote work was rare a decade ago because the technology wasn't advanced enough. If your colleagues and business partners wanted to get in touch with you when you were out of the office, they couldn't email, text or direct message you. At that time, most employers would have balked at the idea of employees regularly working from home. One major concern most employers had for working remotely was a loss of productivity. But the pandemic showed that employees could work on their own. Prodoscore, for example, reported that remote workers' productivity increased 47 percent during the lockdown in March and April 2020, finding out that communication activities such as emailing, telephoning and chat messaging all climbed.
Other recent studies indicate that remote work options increase job satisfaction. In 2022, McKinsey surveyed 25,000 workers across a range of industries about their remote work experience. According to the study, seeking out flexible work environments is the third reason why people search for new jobs (better pay/hours and career opportunities are the others). Remote work is such a large priority for workers that 87 percent of the respondents said that when offered the chance to work remotely, they would take it.
“Ten years ago, remote employment basically meant a telemarketing or customer service position at below minimum wage,” said Samantha Lambert, director of human resources at Centific. “It was rarely connected with a full-time career. Now, technology affords us the ability to get the same job done, no matter where in the world we are.”
“The modern workforce is increasingly mobile, collaborative and dynamic, and comprises multi generations, all with different communication preferences,” said Stacey Epstein, chief marketing officer at Freshworks. “These workers span multiple industries. All of them represent unique challenges when it comes to staying connected while on the job.”
However, many companies continue to resist this work trend for various reasons. Some business owners may fear a lack of productivity in their employees, while others haven't invested in teleconferencing and telework tech to support remote workers. Still, some businesses are making the necessary investments to support remote work.
