Letter of the Day | Urge workers to stay home in virtual offices

THE EDITOR, Sir:

With the total chaos now being experienced by commuters because of the infrastructure improvement works being undertaken all over the city, it now provides an opportunity for the country to seriously look to virtual offices, which is being done in other countries in order to alleviate traffic congestion and high overhead costs.

I would like to suggest that we look at utilising available technology, which would allow persons to work from their home instead of having to come to the office.

This is not a novel idea, but it is an idea whose time has now come in light of the crisis the country is facing with the traffic situation.

Let us look at how the idea could work. We have cell phones, laptops and iPads and other technologies that allow efficient communication to take place without personally interfacing with each other. If a meeting is to be held, it could be via conference call, so there is no need for the physical person to be present in an office.

If a letter or a document is to be written, it could be done from a laptop or computer at home and then emailed to the target persons. If there is the need to meet with a customer, arrangements could be made for a one- or two-day maximum in office to deal with the customers and to attend stakeholders' meetings if required doing so.

Once there is an agreed work plan with the employer and employee, this could be the monitoring tool to ensure that the organisation is efficiently managed.

If we implement such a system, the company, the country and the individual could realise major cost savings from fuel bills, i.e., lower gas bills to drive to work, major reduction in light and water bills at the workplace, lower transportation cost for those travelling on public transportation, etc. The country's gas bill would also be significantly reduced as a result of the need to drive to work every day.

AUBYN PERKINS

Spanish Town