Una tavola rotonda sul lavoro da casa

Opinioni e atteggiamenti

1. a) Whether working from home is effective for people and teamsGrace chiede se il lavoro da casa funzioni davvero e i due ospiti discutono dei suoi effetti sul personale e sui team.
2. b) New staff miss chances to learn informally from colleaguesDice che i nuovi assunti imparavano ascoltando per caso le conversazioni, cosa che non succede in una videochiamata.
3. c) Not having to travel to workHanno apprezzato soprattutto il tempo risparmiato non facendo il pendolare.
4. d) She thinks they can be pointless if people end up on video calls anywayCritica le aziende che impongono giorni fissi in ufficio quando poi le persone viaggiano solo per stare in videochiamata.
5. a) He accepts that Elena's criticism applies to his own teamL'espressione "I'll admit" mostra che sta concedendo un punto: il suo team ha avuto questo problema, più spesso di quanto vorrebbe.
6. d) It depends on each person's situation at homeDice che non è un'esperienza universale: chi vive da solo può sentirsi isolato, mentre un genitore molto impegnato può apprezzare le ore di silenzio.
7. a) Working alongside an experienced colleagueOgni nuovo assunto è affiancato a un collega esperto e da allora si ambienta molto più in fretta.
8. c) Cautious, although she offers a general ideaDice di essere cauta con le previsioni, ma suggerisce comunque quali organizzazioni potrebbero andare bene.

Ascoltare i dettagli

1. thirty / 30Grace presenta Ravi come il responsabile di un team di trenta persone.
2. three / 3Ravi dice che il suo team lavora da casa tre giorni a settimana.
3. twelve hundred / 1200 / 1,200 / one thousand two hundred / a thousand two hundredElena dice che hanno intervistato circa milleduecento dipendenti.
4. fifty / 50Il risparmio medio è stato di circa cinquanta minuti al giorno.
5. Tuesday / TuesdaysRavi dice che si incontrano in ufficio ogni martedì.
6. collaboration / collaborating / working togetherPrevede che gli uffici diventeranno luoghi di collaborazione.

Grace: Good evening, and welcome to Working Lives. Tonight's question sounds simple: does working from home actually work? With me are Ravi Mehta, who manages a team of thirty at an architecture firm, and Elena Novak, who studies workplace behaviour. Ravi, let's start with you.

Ravi: Thanks, Grace. My team works from home three days a week, and for focused tasks, like drawing or writing reports, I'd say we're more productive than we used to be. Where we've struggled is with new staff. They used to learn a huge amount just by overhearing conversations, and that simply doesn't happen on a video call.

Grace: Is that something your research supports, Elena?

Elena: Partly. We surveyed around twelve hundred employees, and what they valued most was the time they saved by not commuting, about fifty minutes a day on average. But I'd argue the real issue isn't where people work, it's how teams communicate. Too many companies insist on fixed office days, and then people travel for an hour only to sit on video calls with colleagues in other buildings.

Ravi: I'll admit that's happened to us more often than I'd like.

Grace: What about loneliness? That's something many of our listeners have raised.

Elena: It's real for some people, but it certainly isn't universal. Someone who lives alone may feel quite isolated, while a parent with young children might value a few quiet hours at home.

Ravi: For new starters, we now pair each person with an experienced colleague, and they meet in the office every Tuesday. Since we started doing that, new staff seem to settle in far more quickly.

Grace: We're almost out of time. In one sentence, where will we be in five years?

Ravi: I think offices will become places for collaboration rather than rows of desks.

Elena: I'm wary of predictions, to be honest. But I suspect the organisations that do well will be the ones that ask their staff what works, rather than assuming they already know.