这场全球最大的远程办公试验，已经持续四周了

全民宅家抗疫，学生宅在家学习。

他们的父母宅在家监督他们学习，并且还要远程办公。

Telecommute（家庭办公：通过电话、电子邮件等与办公室、顾客等进行联系）这个词最早出现在1972年的《经济学人》杂志上。

它组合了来自于希腊语的前缀tele，表示“远处”，和动词commute，意思是“上下班往返”。另一个近义词是telework.

远程办公是什么

Telecommuting (also known as working from home, or e-commuting) is a work arrangement in which the employee works outside the office, often working from home or a location close to home (including coffee shops, libraries, and various other venues).
远程办公（也称为在家办公或电子通勤）是指员工在办公室外工作的一种工作安排，通常在家或离家近的地方（包括咖啡店、图书馆和各种其他场所）工作。

话先说明白，有些工作必然还是不能在家做的。

Tens of millions of jobs at all points of the income and skill spectrum are of course not suited to remote work.
有数以千万计的各种收入各种技能的职位都不适合远程工作。

►Doctors, dentists, and countless other healthcare workers of the world will always need to be hands-on with patients, just as：
医生、牙医、以及世界上无数的其他各种医疗工作者总是需要临床作业；诸如：

►construction workers need to be on building sites
建筑工得在工地上

►scientists need to be in labs
科学家得在实验室里

►wait staff need to be in restaurants
服务生得在餐馆里

►judges need to be in court
法官要在法院里

►hospitality employees need to be in hotels
酒店业从业者得出现在酒店里

……

为什么要远程办公

远程办公的存在必然有它的好处与适宜的人群。

More freedom
更自由

Telecommuting allows a worker greater freedom regarding her or his work hours and work location. It gives the employee more flexibility to balance work and personal obligations.
远程办公使得工人在工作时间和工作地点两方面有着更大的自由。员工可以更灵活地平衡工作和个人事务。

Productivity
效率

Often, working from home can make you more productive, because you do not have the distractions of office space. Of course, this is not necessarily true if you can be easily distracted by home appliances such as washing machines that make considerable noise, or if you are someone that actually needs supervision from your boss to concentrate on your work. Productivity sometimes entails a division of your residence where a space away from comfortable couches, beds, TVs should be designated.
在家工作通常可以让你更有效率，因为没有办公空间的干扰。当然，如果你很容易被诸如发出噪音的洗衣机之类的家用电器分心，或者你是一个真正需要老板监督才能专心工作的人，那么你在家工作的效率不一定会高。想要在家高效工作有时需要划分你的住所——在其中划出一个远离舒适的沙发、床、电视的空间（用来工作）。

斯坦福大学经济系教授Nicholas A. Bloom带领团队2015年在The Quarterly Journal of Economics上发表了一项针对中国某大型网上旅游平台员工在家办公效率的研究。

Call center employees who volunteered to WFH were randomly assigned either to work from home or in the office for nine months.
自愿在家办公的呼叫中心员工会被随机安排在家或在办公室工作，为期9个月。

他们发现：

Home working led to a 13 percent performance increase, of which 9 percent was from working more minutes per shift (fewer breaks and sick days) and 4 percent from more calls per minute (attributed to a quieter and more convenient working environment).
在家远程办公产生了13%的绩效提升，其中9%来自每班工作更多分钟（更少的工作间休息、更少请病假），4%来自每分钟更多的通话（归因于更安静和更方便的工作环境）。

Home workers also reported improved work satisfaction, and their attrition rate halved, but their promotion rate conditional on performance fell.
在家工作的员工的工作满意度也有所提高，他们的自然减员率降低了一半，但他们以业绩为标准的晋升率却下降了。

Employees' welfare
福利

Allowing workers to telecommute often makes them more productive, which benefits the company. Telecommuters are also likely to be happier in their jobs and are therefore more likely to stay with the company. Telecommuting even saves companies money in office expenses (such as rent and stationery).
允许员工远程办公通常会提高他们的工作效率，这对公司有利。远程工作者在工作中也可能更快乐，因此更可能留在公司。远程办公甚至为公司节省了办公开支（如租金与文具开销）。

Many industries offer telecommuting jobs. Some of these industries include sales, customer service, and marketing. Many jobs in technology (including computer and software programming) can be done via telecommuting.
许多行业都有远程办公工作。例如销售、客户服务和市场营销。许多技术工作（包括计算机和软件编程）都可以通过远程办公来完成。

Some medical professionals, including health claim analysts and even some radiologists, have begun to work from home.
一些医学专业人士，包括健康索赔分析师，甚至一些放射科医生，已经开始在家工作了。

但远程办公并非没有局限性，不然也不会互联网发展这么久了，走在远程办公前列的美国也只有8百万人在线上工作，约占1亿5千万劳动人口的5%（取自2017年美国人口调查局数据）。

New requirements on venues
场地要求

You have to be extremely self-motivated, or else you may get distracted easily. You also need to find a productive place to do work, such as a home office or coffee shop.
你得非常有自我驱动力，要不然你就很容易分心。在家得找出一个能让你高效工作的区域，比方说家庭办公室或者咖啡店。

Mental health issues
心理问题

Some people also find working from home to be a bit isolating, because you are not around your coworkers. Those who enjoy teamwork may lose their opportunity to bond with colleagues by teleconferencing alone.
有些人会觉得没有同事在身边，在家办公很孤独。喜欢团队协作的人只是搞远程会议的话，会觉得失去了和同事建立互信关系的契机。

如果你觉得自己的事情其实真的绝大部分情况下不用去办公室做，被老板盯着不说，还要忍受通勤的痛苦，那你就得好好想想怎么跟老板聊远程办公的事。

You should come up with a strategic plan if you want to ask your employer if you can telecommute.
要是想去问老板你是否可以远程办公，你得先有个全局性的计划。

First, decide what kind of schedule you have in mind (do you want to work from home full time? Come into the office part-time?).
首先，脑子里得知道你的工作日程安排是什么样的。（你要在家全职工作呢还是偶尔兼职性地去下办公室？）

Then, be sure you can explain how your telecommuting would benefit the company (Would it save the company money? Would you be able to increase productivity?).
其次，确保你能向老板解释清楚你远程办公能给公司带来什么好处。（会给公司省钱吗？你的工作效率会提高吗？）

2020年初新冠肺炎疫情暴发以来，许多农历春节之后需要返工的公司，考虑到公共卫生风险，都纷纷鼓励员工转战到了线上。

MarketWatch在其2月11号的报道中采访了20位中国白领员工。

We surveyed 20 Chinese white-collar employees, and found that most had either been asked to work from home or had the entire week of work canceled (most with pay).
我们调查了20名中国白领员工，发现大多数人要么被要求在家工作，要么被取消了一周的工作（大多数是带薪的）。

另外作者还提到，中国南方的冬天，给在家办公的人造成了很大的困难。

平常在办公室吹空调是理所当然的，在家整日整夜地开空调，心里就不知什么滋味儿了。

Haoran and Sisi stay cooped up in their bedroom, with a small portable heater buzzing, while the rest of their apartment remains chilly. Their predicament is not unusual in the west and south of China. And it doesn’t make for the coziest work experience in the winter months.
Haoran和Sisi被迫呆在卧室里，一个小型的便携式取暖器嗡嗡作响，公寓里其他房间仍然很冷。他们的困境在中国西部和南部并不罕见。而且，这么做不可能让冬天的工作体验变得舒适。

最近，很多人抱怨在家办公时间变长，有时比在办公室还长。

这到底是因为人们觉得环境舒服从而自愿加班，还是被迫超长待机在线听差遣？

我们不知道答案。

至少疫情结束时，你就能在去办公室和窝在家干活中，真正做一把选择了。

Notes

venue /ˈvenjuː/ n
活动场地（如音乐厅、体育比赛场馆、会场）

spectrum /ˈspektrəm/ n
光谱；范围，各层次

hospitality /ˌhɑːspɪˈtæləti/ n
（款待客人、顾客等的）食物、饮料、服务；款待；好客；殷勤

attrition /əˈtrɪʃn/ n
自然减员

stationery /ˈsteɪʃənri/ n
文具

chilly /ˈtʃɪli/ adj
阴冷的；寒冷的

编辑：陈月华
来源：arstechnica; thebalancecareers; MarketWatch; The Quarterly Journal of Economics