WFH
IEA Urges the World: Stay Home, Skip the Commute, Beat $100+ Oil
In response to the tumultuous oil crisis, the IEA has urged everyone to work from home. The disruption in the global oil supply has an immense impact on the economy.
Needless to say, everyone needs to make changes to prevent further price shocks. Thus, every country strongly recommends that its citizens shift to WFH.
3-day work week as the flagship measure
IEA has recommended limiting travel; the most viable option for this is to shift to remote work. If it is not possible to work remotely at home for the entire week, shifting to a 3-day work week seems to be the most viable solution.
This setup is estimated to help save 500, 000 barrels of oil per day. Calculating it down to your personal expenses, that could mean a reduction in your fuel consumption by at least 20 percent.
That’s from the government’s PoV. But to make things more sustainable for you, let’s try to take a look at the competitive advantages.
What are the competitive advantages?
Let’s see how you can see the silver lining in this setup.
Initial savings
The money that you save by abstaining from travel is money saved that you can add for groceries, utilities, and other household needs. Aside from the cost of the gas, there are either hidden expenses that go unnoticed when you are in a corporate setting.
Amplifying the savings that you can make can make this setup more bearable. The trigger is different from the remote setup of the last pandemic, so knowing that you can save more than just money by skipping driving can prepare your household for the surging commodity increase.
These are poised to happen with the escalating oil crisis. These are things such as vehicle maintenance and your expensive midday lattes. You are also saving money from these expenses.
Efficiency and more free time
Take a look at things from a different perspective. How else can you benefit from this setup?
There’s the time saved. Instead of spending an hour or so going to and from work, you can utilize this time to work on something that can add more value to what you do.
You can also spend the extra time working on digital entrepreneurship. Now is the time to launch that big creative idea of yours that has been shelved for a while. A lot of folks will be working from home. Thus, there will be a demand for digital products. You can dive into these possibilities. And who knows? You might find one that can help you earn more.
Amping up your sustainability score
If your business is more sustainable, it can appeal more to folks who are very aware of the oil crisis.
While the 3-day work week is more of a recommendation and not a mandate, it’s time to show how you can contribute to pacifying this crisis. Whenever possible, shifting to a 3 day week can give you a chance or autonomy to be sustainable. Though it does not automatically mean that it is once you shift to remote, you will have the flexibility to do so.
Can WFH stabilize the global oil crisis?
It is seen as a strategic tool for national energy security. That’s why it’s one of the initial points of the IEA’s recommendations.
It can reduce global shock since the need for fuel can decrease, since you won’t drive to and from work every single day. This can somehow ensure we have enough supply to use for the things that can otherwise be done at home. This will prevent the prices of gas from skyrocketing since it can narrow the line between high demand and the limited supply.
Highlighting the concerns, WFH is not a personal choice for your family’s financial relief. This is an integral step in ensuring global economic stability. Every liter of fuel that you do not use to get to work can be reserved for essential logistics such as transporting food and public service.
By once again adhering to this strong recommendation, you will be able to secure your bank account. And when all of us do so, it can help mitigate further global price shocks. Then all of us can get a sigh of relief, somehow, at least enough to keep our sanity intact.
