Letters | Working from home is kinder to the environment, and to ourselves: tech savvy Hong Kong take note
- The coronavirus pandemic helped us discover the positive impact of remote working, not just on our well-being, but also on the environment as we cut down on the daily commute
- Next, we should decentralise the business district, and opt for urban planning that supports a low-impact lifestyle and high quality of life
We seem to have a love-hate relationship with remote working. This is understandable, given that it was forced on many organisations due to Covid-19. Of course, at the moment it seems like Hong Kong has got past the worst of it, most workplaces have since reopened and employees encouraged to return.
Elsewhere though, businesses have instead embraced work-from-home arrangements after seeing that long-held misgivings by employers on productivity loss were disproved. In fact, a McKinsey survey found 41 per cent of employees reporting that they were more productive than before and almost 30 per cent saying they were just as productive, thanks to having greater flexibility.
Hong Kong can especially benefit from remote work, considering that it is primarily an information economy, where a significant proportion of jobs can be easily done outside the office.
The pandemic has sparked more discussion on the value of remote working. Curiously though, some people – even among my peers – have forgotten about the environmental benefits of working from home.
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Even those who still have to travel can benefit from remote work; with fewer people commuting to central business districts during peak hours, there will be less strain on transport infrastructures and commutes will become less stressful overall.