Working from Home

The question

How to approach this advantages and disadvantages question

An advantages and disadvantages essay weighs both sides. Some questions also ask whether the advantages outweigh the disadvantages: then you must pick a side.

1. Introduce the trend and say what you will cover.
2. One paragraph on the advantages, with an example.
3. One paragraph on the disadvantages, with an example.
4. If asked "do the advantages outweigh...?", give your answer in the conclusion and the introduction.

How to plan this answer

Structure

1. Introduction: paraphrase the trend and state a clear position, such as 'on balance, a positive development if managed well'.
2. Body paragraph 1: explain the advantages for employees, such as saving commuting time and having more flexibility for family life.
3. Body paragraph 2: explain the advantages for employers, such as lower office costs and access to a wider pool of candidates.
4. Body paragraph 3: discuss the disadvantages for employees, such as isolation and blurred boundaries between work and home.
5. Body paragraph 4: discuss the disadvantages for employers, such as weaker team cohesion and the difficulty of monitoring performance, then conclude by restating your position.

Idea bank

• Employee gain: time saved on commuting, which can be spent on sleep, exercise or family responsibilities.
• Employer gain: smaller office costs and the ability to recruit people who live far from the head office.
• Employee cost: isolation and loneliness, and the risk of working longer hours without a clear end to the day.
• Employer cost: informal conversations that spark new ideas are harder to replicate online, which can weaken team cohesion.
• Balanced view: a hybrid model that combines home working with regular office days, which many firms are now adopting.

Useful vocabulary

• hybrid working: Hybrid working allows staff to split their week between home and the office.
• commute: Removing the daily commute can give employees hours back each week.
• overheads: Smaller premises reduce overheads, especially in expensive city centres.
• isolation: Isolation can become a serious problem for people who work alone all week.
• work-life balance: Flexible hours can improve work-life balance for parents and carers.
• blur the boundary between: Working at home can blur the boundary between professional and personal time.
• face-to-face collaboration: Some teams rely on face-to-face collaboration to solve complex problems quickly.
• talent pool: Remote hiring widens the talent pool beyond the local area.
• on balance: On balance, I believe home working is a positive development when it is well managed.

Common mistakes

• Giving only advantages or only disadvantages and forgetting the other half of the question.
• Mixing employee and employer points in the same paragraph, which makes the answer hard to follow.
• Failing to take a clear position in the introduction or conclusion.
• Making claims about productivity without explaining the reason behind them.
• Using references to the pandemic that are vague, rather than explaining how the trend changed working habits.

Examiner tip: Take a clear position in your introduction, then separate the employee and employer perspectives so the examiner sees that both sides are fully addressed.