Telework: Will it Protect our Homes and our Rights?

38 reflections Telework:

Will it Protect

OUR HOMES AND OUR RIGHTS?

By Matthias Sturm // PhD Candidate in Education, Simon Fraser University

Since the start of the pandemic, working from home has been at the centre of a cultural struggle of national significance. But telework has been around for some time. The term “telework” was coined by Jack Nilles in 1973, referring to “moving the work to the worker instead of the other way around”.1 This means all work outside of the office, because of COVID19, especially at home. Moreover, this is not the first time that technology has changed our lives so profoundly. Not long ago, the television entered our homes, changed how we arranged the furniture, and stayed for good. Today, telework disrupts our daily routines in the same way and more. How will our homes and our rights be affected by the changes brought on by telework? We have already created spaces for office desks where there were none before. For many, the kitchen table has become the place where working and learning takes place.

THE TERM “TELEWORK” WAS COINED BY JACK NILLES IN 1973, REFERRING TO “MOVING THE WORK TO THE WORKER INSTEAD OF THE OTHER WAY AROUND.”

GET RIGHT TO WORK

On the one hand, teleworkers (74%) say that their managers set clear expectations regarding telework. One challenge is stress, especially for women (38% reported an increase in stress levels, compared to 29% of men). In the case of teleworkers who have children at home, 16% say they find it difficult to balance work and parenting responsibilities.2 But “the use of teleworking tools, although it is threatening the work/life balance, is valued because it facilitates teamwork and collaboration”.3

On the other hand, increased automation is the result of an attempt to mitigate the high rates of COVID19 among factory workers. “Despite some of the unquestionable benefits of automation, however, simply adopting a technologydriven approach aimed at replacing all manual operations with robots is not a viable fix. … The paradox of automation also known as the paradox of technology occurs when introducing automated systems will add to, not reduce, the workload and responsibilities of the human operator.”4 Specific skills, supervision, and intervention are required.

A SYSTEMIC BIAS

These days, we regularly read that the virus does not discriminate because it does not differentiate between one person and another. But the virus thrives on a systemic bias that benefits the more privileged because those who are less privileged are more likely to contract it. There are several ways social inequality may occur despite the increase of telework during the pandemic, especially for people in Literacy and basic skills (LBS) programs who may be more affected than others.

For example, essential workers and those with low incomes are more at risk of becoming infected with the virus and many have lost their jobs in limited sectors due to lockdown restrictions or insolvency. Cultural and racial divides also take their toll on workers in precarious work.

Lowincome workers could be more affected. “People who make a good living are generally executives, professionals or even managers, who can work from home. On the other hand, telework is more difficult for low earners who often work in shops or factories.5 Surveys that tell us about high acceptance rates of telework may suffer from a lack of equal representation because of digital access issues for those unable to participate as a result of lack of reliable digital access and/or alternative options to onlineonly surveys.

A UNIVERSAL RIGHT TO TRAINING

According to Statistics Canada, only about 40% of Canadians have jobs that can be performed from home and having such a job “reduces the likelihood of work interruptions and, thus, reduces income uncertainty.”6 Learners in LBS programs often are in situations of precarity and limited space. This means they must share the limited access to digital tools and connections with other family members, sometimes multigenerational families. If the pandemic is changing our spaces, means and ways of working, adult education should also make more use of blended and distance delivery.

According to Randstad, a human resources services company, the top 15 jobs in Canada in 2021 are: administrative assistant, customer service representative, sales associate, driver, accounts payable & receivable, registered nurse, general labourer, project manager, welder, electrical engineer, software developer, merchandiser, accountant, human resources manager, and financial advisor.7 Most of the studies done in Quebec show that at least half of the companies would like

2 ADP Canada, “Canadians have mixed feelings on working remotely during COVID-19,” May 13, 2020, https://www.adp.ca/en/resources/articles-and-insights/articles/c/canadians-have-mixed-feelings-on-working-remotely-during-covid-19.aspx. 3 Isabelle Barth, Daria Plotkina, Delphine Theurelle-Stein, “Comment le confinement transforme les « soft skills »,” The Conversation, April 23, 2020, https://theconversation.com/comment-leconfinement-transforme-les-soft-skills-118495. [Available in French only.] 4 Francesco Biondi, “COVID-19 has fuelled automation - but human involvement is still essential,” The Conversation, February 7, 2020. https://theconversation.com/covid-19-has-fuelled-automation-but-human-involvement-is-still-essential-153715. 5 Danielle Beaudoin, “Quand le télétravail rime avec désastre et bombe à retardement,” Radio-Canada Info, October 25, 2020. https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/1743199/emploi-pandemie-productivite-hausse-inegalites-nicholas-bloom. [Available in French only.] 6 Derek Messacar, René Morissette et Zechuan Deng, “Inequality in the feasibility of working from home during and after COVID-19,” Statistics Canada, last modified June 23, 2020. https:// www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/45-28-0001/2020001/article/00029-eng.htm. 7 Randstad, “The top 15 jobs in Canada.,” accessed February 2020, https://www.randstad.ca/best-jobs/top-15-jobs/.

ACCORDING TO STATISTICS CANADA, ONLY ABOUT 40% OF CANADIANS HAVE JOBS THAT CAN BE PERFORMED FROM HOME AND HAVING SUCH A JOB “REDUCES THE LIKELIHOOD OF WORK INTERRUPTIONS AND, THUS, REDUCES INCOME UNCERTAINTY.”

to continue telework arrangements after the pandemic on a parttime basis.8

These developments provide an impetus for LBS programs to use technology and online learning whenever feasible. Blended learning approaches provide opportunities to integrate the demand for new skills but can also mitigate the effects of the lack of digital access at the same time. For blended online program delivery, it is recommended we draw on Trucano’s principle that “the best technology is the one you already have, know how to use, and can afford”.9 Virtual tools have another advantage because they allow us to learn in the privacy of our home. In small communities, learners can meet virtually without the stigma of being identified as someone seeking help at an LBS program. They can also participate in group work without video and using a pseudonym.10

Some literacy practitioners have worked from home during the pandemic. Many have worked tirelessly to develop new approaches for remote instruction. Blended program delivery could not only include online learning but also support for learners outside of LBS programs locations after the pandemic, as originally proposed by the telework concept. t

8 Denis Leduc, “Après la COVID, le télétravail à temps partiel,” Radio-Canada, ICI Bas-Saint-Laurent, 8 septembre 2020, https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/1731628/teletravail-avenir-telus-rimouski-pme-travail-maison-bureau. [Available in French only.] 9 Michael Trucano, “10 principles to consider when introducing ICTs into remote, low-income educational environments,” World Bank Blogs, July 8, 2013, https://blogs.worldbank.org/ edutech/10-principles-consider-when-introducing-icts-remote-low-income-educational-environments. 10 Paul Porter and Matthias Sturm, “Crossing the Great Divides: Distance Learning and Flexible Delivery in Adult Basic Education,” Research report for the Ontario Literacy and Basic Skills Program, 2006, https://www.deslibris.ca/ID/225155.