新冠肺炎疫情几乎席卷全球，全世界开始进入“远程办公”模式。本周早些时候，联合国总部的非必要岗位员工开始在家办公；美国多州发布“待在家里”命令，无论是科技巨头还是小微企业，都制定了远程办公政策；意大利、法国、加拿大等国也相继加入“远程办公”大军。

Non-essential staff at the UN headquarters began working from home earlier this week. Tech giants and small companies have also put in place remote work policies as the U.S. states of California and Illinois issue stay-at-home orders due to the coronavirus pandemic. Italy, France, Canada and numerous countries plagued by the outbreak are also joining life under lockdown in an unprecedented "working from home" movement that is changing the landscape.

国外网友们纷纷晒出宅家花式办公的日常：

有时刻“监工”的↓

有临时搭工作台的↓

这么多纸，是个大户人家！

有享受味道美景的↓

还有通勤距离为0的↓

其实，远程办公并非新生事物。而此次疫情加大了对远程办公的需求。疫情之后，这种模式是否会成为办公新风尚？

“远程办公”的前世今生

从18世纪60年代开始，珍妮纺纱机、蒸汽机和动力纺纱机的诞生使得机器生产取代手工劳动，工厂和车间应运而生，替代了家庭作坊，人们逐渐开始在指定的空间工作。“办公室工作”最终成为了一种规范。1926年，有企业开始实行每周“5天40小时”的工作制，1968年，办公室隔间问世，这些进一步强化了这种规范。

上世纪70年代，一项旨在治理环境污染、倡导清洁空气的运动，鼓励人们减少通勤时间，“在家办公”的现代概念才真正开始兴起。杰克·尼尔斯率先提出了“远程办公”的概念。随后第一台个人电脑问世，以及全球石油危机导致油价暴涨，使得远程办公流行开来。

Starting from the 1760s, machines such as the Spinning Jenny, the steam engine, and the power loom created factories and workshops that led to people working at designated spaces. "Office working" eventually became the norm, which was further reinforced with the introduction of a five-day, 40-hour workweek in 1926 and the invention of cubicles in 1968.

It wasn't until the 1970s when the clean air movement prompted people to reduce their commute time, that the modern concept of "working from home" really took off. Jack Nilles – an engineer who played a leading role in designing certain space vehicles and communication systems – coined in 1973 the term "telecommuting" in his book Telecommunications-Transportation Tradeoff: Options for Tomorrow. The teleworking tide became popular with the advent of the first personal computers and the oil crisis that triggered embargoes in the following years.

互联网和Wi-Fi的发明加速了“远距离工作”的流行趋势，IBM等大型科技公司广泛采用。这样的模式似乎毫无疑问是现代的：低碳环保，无需办公室租金，还为职场父母创造了灵活性。

2008年，全球金融危机导致大规模裁员，许多公司被鼓励采用“远程办公”模式，以节省办公室租金成本。研究数据显示，到2018年，全球范围内超过50%的员工每周至少有一半时间在家工作。2005年至今，全球定期远程办公的人数增加了140%。自由职业平台Upwork预测，到2028年，全球将有73%的雇主拥有远程办公人员。

With the invention of the internet and Wi-Fi, the "remote working" trend was widely embraced by big tech companies such as IBM and AT&T. Such a model seems unequivocally modern: living a low-carbon life, forgoing office rentals, and creating flexibility for working parents.

The subsequent 2008 global financial crisis led to a large-scale downsizing of workers while encouraging more companies to adopt the "remote working" model in order to save costs on leasing office space. Hashtags like #DigitalNomad and #WorkFromAnywhere on social media led more to join the army of remote workers. Globally wise, by 2018, over 50 percent of employees worked from home at least half of the week, according to a study by the world's largest office-space provider IWG. From 2005 until now, the number of regular remote workers rose globally by 140 percent. A 2019 report by freelance platform Upwork predicted that 73 percent of employers around the world will have some remote employees by 2028.

然而，远程办公有优势，也有弊端，比如容易分心、沟通困难、网络不稳定等。前文提到IBM曾在1979年就尝试了远程办公，但2017年营收连续20个月下滑之后随即放弃了这种模式。

However, IBM gave up this model – with which it had begun experimenting in as early as 1979 – in 2017 after revenues plunged for 20 consecutive months. That may illustrate the disadvantages of working from home: easy distractions, communication difficulties and unreliable internet connections. "Work at home if you can, but don't expect it to be paradise," that was a headline from Financial Times last month.

来看看远程办公优缺点对比图↓

疫情之下的“远程办公”

关于在家工作利弊的争论已经持续了十多年，但突如其来的新冠肺炎疫情却出乎意料地给这种模式带来了福音。

春节假期结束后，约有2亿中国人在家办公。近年来随着电话和视频会议的快速发展，在家办公早已不是什么新鲜事。数据显示，2015年以来，中国的远程办公人数增长了217%，当年只有180万人，今年这一数字预计增长到约571万。

While the argument over the pros and cons of working from home has continued for over a decade, the coronavirus outbreak which has now spread to over 150 countries has unexpectedly served as a boon to this trend.

In China, where confirmed cases of coronavirus were first reported, working from home has gained traction after epidemiologist Zhong Nanshan said the virus can spread via human-to-human transmission. Some 200 million Chinese have been working in pajamas and casual wear since the extended Spring Festival holiday ended in early February.

Like in the West, working from home is not a new concept in China, especially with the rapid development of teleconference and video chat apps over the years. Since 2015, the number of telecommuters in China has risen by 217 percent from 1.8 million to an estimated 5.71 million, according to industry research firm Qianzhan.

上一次如此大规模在家办公是在17年前SARS疫情期间。当时刚创建淘宝的阿里巴巴要求所有员工在家办公，京东和携程旅行等其他新兴互联网企业也实行了远程办公，此后更多公司纷纷效仿。

The last time people worked at home on a comparable scale was during SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) outbreak 17 years ago. That was when Alibaba asked all its employees to work from home and when it gave birth to its Taobao consumer-facing website, which went on to become one of the largest such platforms in the world. Other nascent internet startups like retailer JD.com and online travel agency Trip.com (previously Ctrip) have also been implementing remote working policies to tide over the tough times. Since then, more digital firms have followed suit.

对于习惯了“朝九晚五”或“996”的人们来说，在家办公是一种全新的体验。有人认为在家工作，零食等诱惑太多，难以集中注意力，希望尽快回到办公室；也有人喜欢灵活的办公模式，但需要高度自律。

But for a number of Chinese who are used to being corralled in drab cubicles over the eight-hour weekday model or even the hustle of the "996" schedule, working from home is a whole new experience.

"It's difficult for me to concentrate when I'm working from home, because I'm easily distracted by the temptations of snacks and my bed," Ivy Qian, who worked remotely for nearly a month, told CGTN.

Though the outbreak gave her the first chance to work at home in her six-year career as an online course editor, she's waiting anxiously to go back to her office because that would provide better work/life balance.

For, Liz, a business analyst from a tech company based in California's San Jose, it's another story. The outbreak didn't change her work much since she works remotely. She and her colleagues, who are in different time zones, would arrange meetings accordingly.

Liz enjoys the flexible work culture but she noted that working from home requires high self-discipline and having the boss see what she has done.

而对于受影响较大的教育行业来说，网络授课有其两面性。一方面，老师担心教学效果不如在教室里，无法及时得到学生反馈；但另一方面，农村地区的学生可以获得更多高质量的教育资源。

The overwhelmingly traditional education sector has been one of the most affected during the outbreak. As more classes are being delivered online, teachers and students in primary and secondary schools are experiencing tremendous disruption.

English teacher Guo Xiaolin agrees that it is less effective when she teaches her students through the screen, as she can't get instant feedback from the students and they aren't as concentrated as they are in the classroom. But Guo said the online courses can enable students from rural areas to get access to high-quality educational resources.

如今，中国疫情逐渐好转，复工复产正在有序推进，但疫情仍在世界范围内蔓延。在北京生活的英国人John就体验了“宅家办公”。他说在他的家乡伦敦，疫情之前远程办公并不常见，但如今许多人已经开始尝试这种模式。

As the coronavirus tapers off in China, more and more Chinese are going back to the office. Qian said working is an important way to interact with society and that people shouldn't always be alone. "Talking or collaborating with others face to face is important to me.”

But "the current situation should fundamentally change things in the future," said John, a Beijing-based journalist, who's been at home about half of every week. For him, working at home is "generally more productive and peaceful." Disadvantages? "I tend to end up with one cat on my lap and another trying to sleep on the keyboard."

In his hometown back in London, remote working wasn't prevalent before the coronavirus. With confirmed cases appearing in the UK, many people have been working one week on, one week off from home for the last few weeks, he said. "But they will now be working from home full time for the foreseeable future."

那么问题来了，你喜欢远程办公吗？