Climate change – this is one of the most discussed issues this year 2015, aside from many others. Environmental concerns have wracked governments and corporations alike.
Who would not?
If you are a business owner, your responsibility to the society is much greater than that of the average individual. To those much is given, much will be expected of.
According to an article from the Environmental Protection Agency, the primary cause of climate change in the world right now is gas emission coming from the burning of fossil fuels. This gas emission from fossil fuels is carbon dioxide emitted from industrial factories and mostly from the mufflers of automobiles.
Everyday, millions of vehicles emit greenhouse gasses that contribute to the change of our Earth’s climate. Majority of this vehicle usage is due to people traveling to and from their workplaces. The daily commute and the traffic that tags along with it do not just bring stress to the workers, it adds up to the deterioration of the air we breathe.
Since private companies are expected to put forth their share of how to tone down the effects climate change by engaging in policies and best practices, they will hit 2 birds in 1 stone if they encourage and allow the practice of telecommuting or remote working among their employees.
Telecommute or telecommuting is the practice of working remotely from the conventional office. You can telecommute in a restaurant, cybercafe, hotel room, or in the convenience of your own home. Private companies, and even government agencies, that stimulate the practice of telecommuting for their staff do so in order to:
- Increase productivity because they need not waste time enduring the traffic of daily commute
- Promote work life-balance.
Did I say 2 birds in 1 stone? No, it is actually 3 birds in 1 stone.
Given the 2 benefits mentioned above − increased productivity and promotion of work-life balance − employers will also be reducing the emission of greenhouse gasses coming from the daily commute of automobiles. Workers need not use vehicles (that require fossil fuels) to go to the office.
The Internet has given us the means to do this. With the necessary communication and monitoring apps plus the hardware that goes with them (high-grade PC with webcam, mic, and headset), you cannot go wrong with producing the necessary results from what is ask of you as an employee.
As the concepts of productivity and work-life balance evolve into much more applicable and attainable principles, they become more matching rather than contrasting. You cannot do one without the other. Technology might be one of the reasons for climate change, but it can also give us the ease of means to attain coherence of productivity, work-life balance, and care for Mother Earth.
