More on remote work advantages

A few of our readers sent reactions to my column two weeks ago about the Internet-based, work-at-home sector in the Philippines. While the original intention was to support new ways of working per se, some of our readers have also chosen to relate this as a means of helping solve Metro Manila’s critical traffic problem.

Let’s hope our government – and even the private sector – will open their minds and hearts to the comments below.

This first one is from Eric Michael B. Santos. He writes: “Thank you for your insightful article ‘Work at home ain’t bad at all’. As a work-from-home writer and editor since 2004, I could absolutely relate to the pros and cons of working from home that you cited in your article.

“Although the work-from-home concept has in recent years slowly been getting traction in some local industries, I agree with your view it is still in its ‘infancy stage’ and only a few ‘select employees’ are able to find rewarding work-from-home jobs.

Prevailing mindset

“Even today, after more than a decade as a work-from-home writer/editor, I still struggle to find new clients that are open-minded enough to consider hiring an employee who will work at home and report to the office only occasionally for meetings and important administrative matters. The prevailing mindset among many (if not most) local companies is that employees need to be physically present in the office every working day.

“Spot on is your view that work-from-home employees are very productive—perhaps even more than office-based workers—because of the technology available to measure the productivity of long-distance, Internet-based workers. I can personally vouch for that.

“With the worsening traffic situation in Metro Manila, I share your hope that the work-from-home concept gains wider acceptance among companies operating in the country. Congratulations on your popular BizLinks column in The Philippine Star and BizLinks website. More power to your advocacy to expose business issues ‘swept under the rug hidden from public view’.”

Paradigm shift needed

This next one is from Emmanuel V. Sierra of Trece Martires City, Cavite. As our breaker states, he calls for a paradigm shift in the way Filipinos view work. He has come up with a simple and definitely doable suggestion. Please read on.

“I think it’s about time to have paradigm shift with regard the way we do our respective work. I believe, there is a lot of office work that can be done at home. With advances in technology (e.g., Internet), work at home is a viable option. Given this, I have some suggestions:

Rationale

“There are around 3 million-plus people going in and out of Metro Manila every day, mostly from the nearby provinces of Rizal, Batangas, Cavite, Laguna, Bulacan, and to some extent, Pampanga.

“These ‘road warriors’ spend some four to six hours a day just to get from their ‘bedroom communities’ to their respective offices every day.

“Approximately, 12 to 18 million-plus manhours a day, or 3.5 to 5 billion manhours a year, are lost due to commuting time alone. Including the attendant costs of commuting (health, pollution, traffic congestion, etc.), the economic cost of prolonged commuting of these ‘road warriors’ is staggering.

“Given the situation of our roads (e.g., EDSA’s daily vehicle traffic of 570,000, much higher than the capacity of 360,000), it is suggested that in order to manage the people’s throughput along the major road arteries in the megapolis, the work at home program should be looked into as one of the palliative solutions.

“Everybody should be a part of the solution to the growing problem of road congestion in Metro Manila.

Suggestions

“Incorporate a work-at-home program as part of the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) of every firm in Metro Manila.

“The public and private sector (e.g., ECOP, PCCI, DOLE, MBC, etc.) should work hand in hand in crafting a policy to pursue the work-at-home program as a new way of doing business.

“Initially, let’s target 10 million manhours of work/year that should be done at home. This should be distributed/allocated to all participating private and public firms.

“Participation in the program should be purely voluntary. A complying company can be given a seal of approval of the governing agency as a work-at-home compliant company.

“For example: Company Y will commit 10,000 manhours/year to the work-at-home program. This means Company Y will commit 53 personnel to work at home all throughout the year. At 10 million manhours target, approximately 52,000-plus personnel will be taken off from the road every year. Assuming 52,000 people are taken of from the road, there will be 52,000 less cars on the road, or 742 buses, etc.

“This maybe ambitious and difficult, but we need to start doing our part in giving solutions to this very complex problem of congestion. I hope this idea could be of help.”

Adding on to this, companies can easily adapt to remote work with a number of technology tools will ensure the concerned employees will be able to deliver the corresponding work commensurate to the salaries they receive.

Not only are these employees going to save on commuting time and throwing away the stress that accompanies long hours of travel, but they will also be able to accumulate more family time. Majority of us, after all, work with the sole purpose of growing our families. –Rey Gamboa (The Philippine Star)