EMBRACING DIGITALIZATION: WORKING AND STUDYING REMOTELY IN THE FACE OF A GLOBAL PANDEMIC

The pandemic outbreak of the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) has led to a major disruption in the paradigm of our social life. The Coronavirus outbreak which started in China, has infected more than 668,352 persons all over the world, with numbers rising exponentially on a daily basis.

Due to the easy mode of transmission of this virus, and its lethal nature, new policies have been put in place as the world tries really hard to adapt to systems where person to person contact is reduced to the barest minimum.

The strict measures which have been employed in the containment of this infectious disease would certainly introduce the world to new ways of doing things. As the world battles with this lethal force which has affected 199 countries and taken over 31,000 lives, certain novelties are being embraced with an old order giving way to a new order.

It is no news that at the basic level of a developing society, the education and labour sectors are necessary keys for unlocking the doors of so many other sectors. Once these sectors are tampered with, there most definitely would be a chain reaction of irreparable damages, which could affect other facets of the economy.

The necessary measure of a total lockdown of schools and business enterprises would have an adverse effect on any economy if allowed for a pretty long while. It is therefore expedient that our government and private individuals, especially business owners, embrace ways of ensuring the continuity of these sectors remotely.

We live in the digital age and almost everything necessary for the survival of man on our planet has been digitalized. This ongoing pandemic has opened the eyes of man to the importance of employing technology in all sectors of the economy, especially the education and labour sector. By employing technology in these sectors, we mean creating a system where people can conveniently work and study from home, or at a convenient place, free from human distractions and unnecessary contact.

Advantages abound in choosing the system of working and studying remotely. Below are some of the importance of embracing telecommuting and remote learning in our society:

1. Continuity of Essential Services without Breaching Necessary Policies During any Lockdown Season

An employee’s productivity is intricately connected to their health or wellbeing. Since economic growth and development are directly proportionate to the efficiency and productivity of healthy workers, the wellbeing of all citizens, especially that of the working class should be a top priority for any responsible government.

With the outbreak of the novel Corona virus, the world has experienced the total lockdown of schools and work centers. In as much as this policy is put in place to preserve the health of students and workers, there would be negative impacts to bear on the long run: businesses would suffer financial loss and children would miss out on educational advancements,  and this would have disastrous impact on our economy. 

A system where students can learn remotely and workers, work remotely (telecommuting), would help salvage this almost hopeless situation.

Institutions and companies that have never really considered the system of advantages which come with working or studying at home should start being proactive by considering and embracing them.

For companies or business enterprises, majority of work can still go on; this can be achieved through the provision of necessary apps and data, and by also encouraging virtual collaboration at intervals.

For students who have been asked to stay at home, learning can still take place. With the Classhall smart learning platform, learners can have access to online training materials and assess themselves through the gamified system incorporated into this platform.

2. Keeping up with the Pace of World Development

The world has gone digital and only nations who understand the importance of keeping up with the pace at which the world is moving, would embrace this revolutionizing digital trend.

Engaging in a radical digital transmutation may be considered too expensive and unnecessary by certain individuals and even the government but going digital, especially in our education and labour sector, is a necessity.

Our relevance in the labour and education sector can only be maintained in this very competitive world, when we employ technology to fast track our progress rate.

Without relevance, there is no development and in the cases of underdevelopment, affected nations always pay the hardest and most expensive ways.

3. Flexibility and Ease of Access

For the education sector especially, one necessary thing lacking is the flexibility and ease of access to quality education. By embracing or introducing remote learning, learners get to choose the time, location and method that are most convenient for them.

Aside the flexibility, there is ease of access since learning materials are at our finger tips. Remote learning encourages maximum improvement since learners get to decide the environment they find most effective, for learning.

4. Helping People Create Work-life Balance

In a place like Nigeria, working in some private parastatal is synonymous to slavery. Since we do not have active labour laws, majority of employees have been subjected to gruesome labour, with little or no time for other essentials of life.

From our traditional 9 – 5 jobs, employees find it difficult to maintain other aspects of life. Most often than not, even after they have left these traditional work environments, they are still laden with one or two tasks which must be completed at home. The next morning, they are off to these places of work, and the cycle continues.

We are least concerned about the danger an individual who works without rest poses to a community; we do not even care about the psychological trauma and stress such an individual is exposed to. All of these would most certainly cause ripple effects of damages.

By introducing telecommuting, individuals would be able to balance their work-life engagements and have more time to fulfill family care responsibilities. Also, the unconscious maltreatment and overusing of employees would be curbed.

5. Cost Effectiveness and Efficiency

Studying remotely is both cost effective and efficient. The benefits of opting for a quality e-learning platform to make your remote study realizable always justify the investment.

Aside having access to quality education, the necessary fares for commuting to traditional teaching centres are saved. You also have access to free books which are usually downloads away.

Remote learning is also very effective. Once the necessary apps, gadgets, power and connections are in place, time is properly managed since human factors related delays and distractions are reduced to the barest minimum.

Tags: COVID-19 Study from Home