Wednesday, 31 October 2012
Hurricane Sandy- an opportunity for growth
Natural disasters are not nice things! Not only do they cause extensive damage to the environment we live in, but they can in some cases disrupt everything we cherish and hold for dear. In the wake of Hurricane Sandy's afteremath, the severity of the storm, the loss of life and general mayhem that such an event has caused, the question of what was extend of the damage? All too quickly followed by , and who is going to pay for it?
Yes, Insurance companies will have to take on their fair share of responsbilities, government at both a state and federal level will need to act swiftly to set aside budget for reconstruction and rebuilding. More importantly decisive leadership will be needed to avoid the popular mood of the people moving from one of hope to disenchantment and general unrest.
Yet such natural disasters also offer a strange sense of change, albeit not always wanted, but change nevertheless. It does also allow change in terms of how we do things, the systems and processes we put in place , the safeguards to avoid future disasters.
Yes, Insurance companies will have to take on their fair share of responsbilities, government at both a state and federal level will need to act swiftly to set aside budget for reconstruction and rebuilding. More importantly decisive leadership will be needed to avoid the popular mood of the people moving from one of hope to disenchantment and general unrest.
Yet such natural disasters also offer a strange sense of change, albeit not always wanted, but change nevertheless. It does also allow change in terms of how we do things, the systems and processes we put in place , the safeguards to avoid future disasters.
Wednesday, 24 October 2012
The changing nature of "working from home"
It has never been easier to connect to our place of work, whilst "working from home". And yet the mere concept of bring our work life into our personal space has not only gone unchallenged, but we seem to have traded this invasion of our personal space without recognising the long term consequences of doing so.
As a telecommunications specialist, the idea of communicating across multiple locations is not a new one . With the advent of high speed broadband in most industrialised and developing nations, allowing people to effectively "connect" to the office, is today easier than ever before. Advances in the quality of the underlying infrastructure, means that today most applications such as mail, intranet services, voice and video conferencing, can all be done from the "comfort" of your home. I use the word " comfort" with some reservation, as the ability to seperate ones personal environment from our office environment has never been as difficult as it is today.
Businesses traditionally has been reluctant to formally provide for contracts that recognise the concept of working from home and more importantly the idea of " a home office". In most cases this seems to be cost issue, with formal home work, requiring an additional investment by the company, in terms of office equipment , health and safety , travel costs and so on..
The current approach is a grey one with many businesses , where possible, allowing for workers to connect remotely without offering formal contracts stipulating so.
It is more than likely that the concept itself of " working from home" is already an outdated one. With modern access methods and tools, the concept of connecting via various devices including ipads, smart phones, notebooks already possible today. This means that more than ever the need to define the rules of engagement when it comes to work-life balance are necessary. The consequences of not doing so, are not yet known, but the outcome of a society constantly locked in work and productivity mode leaves employees vulnerable to exploitation.
As a telecommunications specialist, the idea of communicating across multiple locations is not a new one . With the advent of high speed broadband in most industrialised and developing nations, allowing people to effectively "connect" to the office, is today easier than ever before. Advances in the quality of the underlying infrastructure, means that today most applications such as mail, intranet services, voice and video conferencing, can all be done from the "comfort" of your home. I use the word " comfort" with some reservation, as the ability to seperate ones personal environment from our office environment has never been as difficult as it is today.
Businesses traditionally has been reluctant to formally provide for contracts that recognise the concept of working from home and more importantly the idea of " a home office". In most cases this seems to be cost issue, with formal home work, requiring an additional investment by the company, in terms of office equipment , health and safety , travel costs and so on..
The current approach is a grey one with many businesses , where possible, allowing for workers to connect remotely without offering formal contracts stipulating so.
It is more than likely that the concept itself of " working from home" is already an outdated one. With modern access methods and tools, the concept of connecting via various devices including ipads, smart phones, notebooks already possible today. This means that more than ever the need to define the rules of engagement when it comes to work-life balance are necessary. The consequences of not doing so, are not yet known, but the outcome of a society constantly locked in work and productivity mode leaves employees vulnerable to exploitation.
Friday, 15 June 2012
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)