B1 – Intermediate
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey emailed all his employees that most of them can continue working from home for as long as they want.
A Twitter spokesperson said, “Opening offices will be our decision. When and if our employees come back, will be theirs.” Even after the coronavirus pandemic, the employees can still have the freedom to choose where they want to work.
Twitter is an online company so almost all of the employees can just converse on chats and video calls. The past few months have proven that working online is possible.
Let’s read the article below to learn more about Twitter’s decision to let their employees work at their homes forever.
https://breakingnewsenglish.com/2005/200515-working-at-home-1.html
Discussion Questions:
- What was your reaction towards Twitter letting their employees work from home forever?
- Do you think that this set up of working from home can still be productive for workers and the company?
- What are the advantages of working form home for the employees and the company?
- What are the disadvantages of working form home for the employees and the company?
- Given a chance, would you want to work from home for the rest of your life? Why?
28 replies on “Twitter Employees Can Work at Home Forever”
1.What was your reaction towards Twitter letting their employees work from home forever?
In my opinion is a good decision. The company is open mind and it means that they trust in the employees.
2.Do you think that this set up of working from home can still be productive for workers and the company?
I think it depends on the workers and the type of work but in general terms, the company wins because
you can have more time , be happier and as a result , the productivity will increase
3.What are the advantages of working form home for the employees and the company?
It reduces the pollution ,the traffic jam. On the other hand you can save money and have more free time
I think that if you have children working from home could do you life easier
4.What are the disadvantages of working form home for the employees and the company?
On my point of view the feeling of belonging to the company could decrease. On the other hand the team work
effectiveness decreases because in spite we have remote sessions and meetings , the knowledge sharing is better
face to face , therefore the social behavior could get worse
5 .Given a chance, would you want to work from home for the rest of your life? Why?
No I like going to the office from time to time talk to my mates , going aout to a restaurant in the lunch time …
If I would work from home everyday probably I would become a strange person…
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1. I thought it was a good idea to offer the workers the option to work from home forever if they decide that that is what they want to do.
2. Of course. During pandemic, it became demonstrated that certain type of workers could do their job remotely without problem. In fact, I think working from home is more productive than going to the office sometimes, since you are saving time from commuting and the balance work life helps to improve this productivity.
3. As I mentioned before, one of the advantages is the time saving. All the time you spend usually by going to work can be dedicated to working instead, or to have a better quality of life by being able to sleep a bit more in the morning, or to go to the gym or whatever else you choose to do with that time. Also, money saving in terms of gasoil, vehicle expenses, meals at restaurants, etc.
4. To me the main disadvantage is that, sometimes, is difficult to disconnect from work. If you are working from home it is easy to extend the work time if you are not careful and set boundaries.
5. Yes, I have been working from home since 2017 and I prefer this way so far. That does not mean that I do not appreciate occasional visits to the office to interact with colleagues, but we can also do that by Teams or Zooms.
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1. What was your reaction towards Twitter letting their employees work from home forever?
I think that it is an improvement in the companies strategy related to the balance of family and work life. Now, there is the possibility to work at site or at office and employee can choose depending on their need.
2. Do you think that this set up of working from home can still be productive for workers and the company? Yes, I think that employees would be more productive as they have the fexibility with their timelines since the time of jorney that they spend from home to the office and back can be used for working.
3. What are the advantages of working form home for the employees and the company? & 4. What are the disadvantages of working form home for the employees and the company? I think that the advantages of working from homw is the timelines flexibility, conciliation between personal live and work and save time in the jorney from home to the office. But on the other hand there are disadvantages such as lose of partner relationship, difficulties to follow the work schedule, as you have the pc at home and you can always connect if you have any task pending.
5. Given a chance, would you want to work from home for the rest of your life? Why? I think that the best option is to choose a mix and working 2 days at office and 3 days at home. In this way the employees could have the benefics of working at home and at office.
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Be a bit mindful with the spelling of some words: flexibility, journey, benefits.
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1. What was your reaction towards Twitter letting their employees work from home forever?
I think that Twitter made the right decision. There are some type of jobs that let this modality of teleworking that is really advantageous for employees as it provides more flexibility for their daily life, more compatible for their familiar life because it lets employees to adapt their timetables to their own needs.
2. Do you think that this set up of working from home can still be productive for workers and the company? Yes, of course. I think that also it increases productivity in comparison with the office where sometimes employees spend more time having coffee and talking with colleagues than doing their work. Of course, it is also necessary this interaction between colleagues but sometimes it is difficult to keep the attention on what you are doing.
3. What are the advantages of working form home for the employees and the company?
– For the employees: the flexibility
– For the company: to save the money and costs of maintaining the office space.
4. What are the disadvantages of working form home for the employees and the company?
Of course, that you lose contact with the colleagues and sometimes it is a bit lonely.
5. Given a chance, would you want to work from home for the rest of your life? Why? I think, the best option is to have an hybrid modality, where you can have the advantages of working home and not losing the contact with the colleagues.
Well done sharing your thoughts about this working arrangement at X (formerly Twitter).
Always try to respond in full sentences. For example for your answer for Question # 3.
Instead of:
You may write it this way:
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1. What was your reaction towards Twitter letting their employees work from home forever?
It is good for their employees, but I am not sure all employees want to work from home. I hope they can choose where they want to work.
2. Do you think that this set up of working from home can still be productive for workers and the company?
Of course, I am a home worker; I work from home every day. It’s true that I can go to the office if I need something or simply because I want to be there. But in the end, I think I am more productive when I stay at home, because I have my things organized and I tend to do my tasks my way.
3. What are the advantages of working form home for the employees and the company?
Well, in my opinion, if you are a disciplined person, it is good to concentrate on your task and you find it easier to combine it with other things. For example, if you are waiting for a package or lunchtime, you can choose your food and adjust the time to eat. Also it is better because You don´t have to take a car or a metro, and You don´t waste time to travel and save money .
4. What are the disadvantages of working form home for the employees and the company?
On the other hand, you may feel lonely and isolated at home. You have no relationships, and most days you don’t talk to anyone. If you have too much work, you may not stick to your working hours and end up working longer hours.
5. Given a chance, would you want to work from home for the rest of your life? Why?
I can’t answer that question. Right now, I feel comfortable working from home, but I don’t know what will happen next year. However, I can tell you that in the office, you can feel lonely because you don’t have colleagues from the same team, and when you get there, you’re just as lonely as you are at home. The world is changing rapidly, and the old way of working no longer exists.
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1. Good for them. I think there is a type of work that can be done from home without any problem.
2. Yes, I think that this set up of working from home can be productive for workers and the company. In many companies, it was implemented during the pandemic and has continued. Or in a hybrid form.
3. Flexibility, cost efficiency, and productivity advantages. Working from home offers employees better work-life balance and reduces stress.
4. Distractions at home, Loss of work-life balance and Isolation
5. I wouldn’t want to work from home for the rest of your life because I prefer contact with the colleagues in the office, face to face, coffee.
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1) I think that is a good idea, so they have the possibility to go to the office if they want.
2) I belive that working from home can still more productive from workers and the company if manage properly
3) Advantatge for the employees:
– Balance work an personal life
– Employees save on tranportation and meals
Advantatge for the company:
– Business can save on offce space, utilities
– Higher employee retention
4) I wouldn’t want to work from home for the rest of my live. I prefer an hibrid model, so this kind allow to be more flexible live.
Lovely hearing your thoughts on this matter. Thanks for sharing!
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1- It’s a very good decision, as it gives employees more freedom and allows them to balance their personal and professional lives.
2- I think so, because it allows employees to better utilize their time for other activities.
3- For employees, they can balance their personal and professional activities, and for the company, it allows for reduced fixed costs.
4- It loses the connection between employees, which is sometimes necessary.
5- It loses the connection between employees, which is sometimes necessary.
Interesting thoughts. Thanks for sharing them!
Here is a better expression you may use in this response:
Keep up the good job!
What was your reaction towards Twitter letting their employees work from home forever?
I think Jack is doing well. They employees have changed their lifes and now come back to office could be hard and unconformatable.
In addition this decission allow to the workers take control of their schedule.
Do you think that this set up of working from home can still be productive for workers and the company?
Yes, it is. I´m the probee of that, since the pandemic I have worked from home for 3 companys. First of them was a medium side company, the second one was an startup, and now I work for a Big Company.
My partners are in Madrid and I work from Bilbao. I´m full time remote and only go to Madrid twice a year and my coworkers and I are very productive
What are the advantages of working form home for the employees and the company?
Workers can lose less time on going to work. Subway is not needed, no car needed, no bus needed. They lose less time going work and take control on their schedule.
The companies have less cost, they can rent a smaller office and the costs of light will be down
What are the disadvantages of working form home for the employees and the company?
You need to have a culture that makes people network without being together. At some companies it might be easier because some coworkers often work with people from other companies and other locations.
The main disadvantage is the lack of networking.
Given a chance, would you want to work from home for the rest of your life? Why?
Yes I do, I will be able to be home when my children wake up and eat breakfast. I can go with them to the door of their school.
I like to eat fresh, at home no need for tupperware.
This mode of work allows me to connect and disconnect. When I finish work I go to the park with my kids in few minutes, if I have to go to the office probably have to use at least 30 minutes.
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1. What was your reaction towards Twitter letting their employees work from home forever?
I didn’t realize about that because I have working from home since January 2019 and I think it is something everyone who works for tech companies could do.
2. Do you think that this set up of working from home can still be productive for workers and the company?
Yes, of course. As I said before, I have been working from home since January 2019 and I think I was absolutely productive. In fact, I was congratulated for my work by most of my clients
3. What are the advantages of working from home for the employees and the company?
For the employees:
– They can live whatever they want
– No traffic jams
– Cheaper cost of living
– More free time
– For companies:
– They can hire better employees
– Even worst paid
– Employees could work 24 hours because they can live around the whole world
– They can save money in offices
4. What are the disadvantages of working form home for the employees and the company?
For employees:
– I think the only bad thing is socialization
– For companies:
– May be they can’t control their employees
– May be is better for them employees are workint at the office because team work is better
6. Given a chance, would you want to work from home for the rest of your life? Why?
– Yes, sure. Because I have been working from home almost 5 years and that has allowed me to change cities, to spend more time with my children, with my family, more time for myself, and many other advantages like to have more money available for what I want to do
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Twitter made a good decision for its employees. I think working from home has multiple benefits both for companies and for employees and a company like Twitter is able to lead by example.
I think this model can be productive and effective but sometimes is necessary one to one contact with colleagues and team workers
There are multiples advantages for the employees: more flexibility, saving money, work-life balance, among many others.
I’ve mentioned some disadvantages earlier, but the most important for me is lost the contact and the monitoring of certain employees.
I wouldn’t work from home the rest of my life, because I think that an hybrid model works better.
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It’s really fantastic than twitter lets to its employees to choose between remote work or work at office.
I believe remote work is the best way to concile life family and work and to be productive the employees need to have great communication skills and be so disciplined.
The advantages are relative, from a father or mother one of the best is not to spend time moving from home to office. If there is some emergency with kids, fathers will have more time to react. For a single or young person maybe this is not an advantage because in many cases they prefer personal interaction. For the company the main advantage is to reduce cost in services, energy, groceries and mobiliary also it will be in a good position occupational hazards.
The common disadvantage is the effect in team work. In some case affect as negative way, and that is a high risk for company and employees.
The evolution theory says doesn’t survive the stronger or smarter but the better be adapted. Currently I work as hybrid way but I really prefer work from home, I will that happen in a few years.
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I think is a good idea, and is an advantage for their employees, and is a way to attract talent to the enterprise. Also, they have the possibility to go to the office if they want.
I’m software developer and I’ve worked in this way since 2-3 years ago, and for me was well, and also for the business. The business results was better than before of tele-working
The advantages for the employees are not spend time with trips, and so, have more time to spend with the family, or practise sports or other things.
The disadvantages might be loose a bit the college relationships, but it can be solved do a meetings sometimes with them.
For me work from house always, would be good, because I’m working in this way and it possible for the business and for me. I have now better life quality.
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What was your reaction towards Twitter letting their employees work from home forever?
I thought that it was a difficult way to work but nowadays i think it great idea
Do you think that this set up of working from home can still be productive for workers and the company?
I think so but it depends of the type of company. Also, I think the best solution is when the worker has the two possibilities and they can decide to work at home or work in the office.
What are the advantages of working from home for the employees and the company?
They save money and time. Also, the worker can save time and be more comfy while work.
What are the disadvantages of working from home for the employees and the company?
Lose the relationship and contact with colleagues and bosses.
Given a chance, would you want to work from home for the rest of your life? why?
Yes, I’d like. Before pandemic times, I thought It was better to go to the office and It was very complicated to work at home. I never imagined I’d love to work at home. In my case, I don’t lose time to go to the office and I can organize my time best.
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