Faced with the rising price of fuel (and other items like food) our national leaders’ initial public response was to tell us to change our way of life – tukar cara hidup – in keeping with the new reality. With the current political climate in the country, the call was only met with contempt by the people on the street. Of course the people will adjust; that much goes without saying.
DUH!
An interesting article I read the other day was one on Ohio’s Kent State University, as well as other employers in the US offering employees a four-day work week to allow them to save on fuel expenses from commuting. I wonder if any Malaysian employer would even consider the idea; e.g. allowing employees to work four ten-hour days instead five eight-hour days.
Many jobs don’t even require an employee to be physically present at the work place all the time. The rising fuel price then should also stimulate a renewed interest in telecommuting. Of course, we need employers to be open to the idea of a flexible working arrangement, and employees to be trustworthy enough to actually work while practically unsupervised. We already have all the required technological tools, especially with the widespread availability of broadband Internet connections. So much has been written about the benefits of telecommuting (read: and I am too lazy to write about them) that I actually wonder why it is not more widely practiced. Not only will we save on fuel bills, it is also good for the environment.
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