The Internet has opened the possibilities for so many things never thought possible before. One of them is that of doing things such as shopping, studying and even working from the comforts of one’s home. At first it was just buying things online. Then came courses offered online. And now, even workplaces are flexible in allowing their employees to work from home via the Internet. Some companies even just have virtual presence where they recruit online and operate their business online.
Telecommuting is slowly becoming the norm for most companies who sees its benefits vs the traditional mode of conducting business. Of course, this is applicable to those whose work description mainly involves processes done via a computer. Telecommuting is simply a work arrangement wherein employees no longer have to report to a central office physically because instead they report to work via the Internet whether they are in the comforts of their own houses or that of a local cafe.
For organizations, this is highly beneficial. It means less overhead costs on their part since they no longer need to maintain a big office and pay for rent, utilities and maintenance personnel. Further, this encourages perfect attendance among employees because the excuses for absences due to family matters such as lack of anyone attending to the house or the kids are reduced.
Yet with the upsides come the downsides of the arrangement. Certain work relationships are not established since employees no longer interface with each other in a way that would build personal relationships. Although this reduces the office drama and politics, it still underscores a basic human need of being socially active and forging actual social relationships. Telecommuting also impacts the boss-employee relationship since employees would feel more detached from their bosses because they don’t get to see them daily and experience their constant pressure brought about by their presence alone. The downsides though are mostly just on the psychological which can always be easily remedied.
Another major innovation brought about by the internet is that of distance learning. Now it is possible even for someone in the Philippines, even without the sufficient funds, to learn something from respected teachers in great universities abroad. It is even possible to earn full degrees from most universities by simply availing of their online classes. Distance learning has made education possible for anyone by breaking barriers typically connected to distance and cost.
Distance learning is highly useful for working individuals in pursuit of higher or additional education. It is also useful for people who want to learn something new that might not be totally related to the degree they’ve originally earned. As such, most courses are completed on the student’s own time.
Yet again, there are downsides to this type of arrangement. Similar to telecommuting, the psychological and social dynamics of a typical live classroom setting is foregone in an online space especially one where students are merely required to complete the courses on their own.
Although the practice of telecommuting and distance learning is a widely accepted practice, it will be a long time before most businesses and schools in the Philippines gravitate to such an arrangement. Although there is a huge number of Filipinos who find employment via such means and there are a number of local universities offering open courses, it would still be a long time before traditional businesses and schools give up their traditional means in exchange for the more modern and seemingly practical and cost-effective ones. After all, the Philippines still remain a largely social country where the social aspects of education and work is very important.
Related articles
- Army eEducation: The distance learning approach (distance-educator.com)
- Distance Learning: From Snail Mail to MOOCs and Beyond (virtual-strategy.com)
- Fostering global discourse: it’s time to embrace distance learning (guardian.co.uk)
