Flexible work arrangements enabled by technologies like VPN, WiFi, and instant messaging allow employees to work remotely. This gives companies access to a global talent pool regardless of location. It also improves work-life balance for employees by providing flexibility. Remote work can reduce business costs and increase productivity by eliminating travel time for meetings which can now be done virtually through online communication tools.

1. Article : Sun sees big cost and social benefits in work from home
(a) Name and describe the types of ICT mentioned in this article
Wireless, WIFI, VPN (virtual private network) – these technologies allow an employee to be able to access their
work place without having to be in the office allowing them to work around the world. VPN can allow
companies to set up a network which is secure and allows employees to access and transfer information from
headquarters safely. It can also be used to network buildings in different locations such as Melbourne
connected to Sydney.
Laptop- the laptop can allow the employee to work from any location they wish to as long as they have a
wireless connection to the network or internet. This can allow employees to work around the world including in
their own home. This can improve family as the employee has more flexible working hours.
IM – instant messaging – IM is an important tool for communication. It can save companies a lot of money on
having to send employees to many location for meetings. It is a very cheap form of communication. It can also
speed up productivity as there is less time flying from place to place.
(b) " Mr Gover said the trend to more flexible work hours would open coporate Australia up to the global skills
market....... " . Describe how working online from home and flexible work hours (thanks to ICT) could benefit
businesses in terms of 'accessing the global skills market'
With the ability for people to work online they have more opportunities to access other people across the
world with communication tools such as IM which enables more communication between companies and
people. The more flexible working hours also means that we can have more opportunities to talk to
people overseas with different time zones.