Telecommuting - substituting the computer for the trip to the job - has been hailed as a solution to all kinds of problems related to office work.

　　電子交通——用電腦取代上班的往返——作為對各種各樣的辦公室工作問題的解決辦法已受到了歡迎。

　　For workers it promises freedom from the office, less time wasted in traffic, and help with child-care conflicts. For management, telecommuting helps keep high performers on board, minimizes tardiness and absenteeism by eliminating commutes, allows periods of solitude for high-concentration tasks, and provides scheduling flexibility. In some areas, such as Southern California and Seattle, Washington, local governments are encouraging companies to start telecommuting programs in order to reduce rush-hour congestion and improve air quality.

　　對工作者來說，它承諾不受辦公室的約束，更少的時間浪費在交通上和有助于解決照看小孩的矛盾。對管理者來說，電子交通有助于挽留高效率的工作者，通過省去辦公室與家之間的來回往返，大大減少工作拖拉和曠工，給予管理者獨處的時間來完成需要高度集中精神的任務，為管理者提供靈活的時間安排。在一些地區，如南加利福尼亞和西雅圖、華盛頓，地方政府鼓勵公司開始電子交通計劃以減少交通高峰時的塞車和提高空氣質量。

　　But these benefits do not come easily. Making a telecommuting program work requires careful planning and an understanding of the differences between telecommuting realities and popular images.

　　但這些益處也來之不易。要使電子交通成功需要仔細的計劃并且理解電子交通的現實狀況和流行的想象之間的區別。

　　Many workers are seduced by rosy illusions of life as a telecommuter. A computer programmer from New York City moves to the tranquil Adirondack Mountains and stays in contact with her office via computer. A manager comes in to his office three days a week and works at home the other two. An accountant stays home to care for her sick child; she hooks up her telephone modern connections and does office work between calls to the doctor.

　　許多工作者被電子交通的美好幻想所迷惑。一位電腦程序設計員從紐約市搬到了寧靜的阿第倫達克山，用電腦保持與她辦公室之間的聯系。一位經理一周三天到辦公室，其他兩天在家工作;一位會計師在家照顧她生病的孩子，接通電話調制解調器的接頭，在同醫生通話之余完成辦公室工作。

　　These are powerful images, but they are a limited reflection of reality. Telecommuting workers soon learn that it is almost impossible to concentrate on work and care for a young child at the same time. Before a certain age, young children cannot recognize, much less respect, the necessary boundaries between work and family. Additional child support is necessary if the parent is to get any work done. Management too must separate the myth from the reality. Although the media has paid a great deal of attention to telecommuting in most cases it is the employee’s situation, not the availability of technology that precipitates a telecommuting arrangement.

　　這些是很有震撼力的情景，但也是對現實有限的反映。電子交通者很快發現在同一時間專注工作和照看小孩幾乎是不可能的。在某個年齡之前，小孩子不可能意識到，更不可能尊重工作與家庭之間的界限。如果家長要完成工作，就必須另外照看小孩。管理階層必須把現實同神話分開。雖然傳媒對電子交通投入了極大的關注，但在很大程度上，是員工的實際情況而不是技術的可能性促成電子交通的安排。

　　That is partly why, despite the widespread press coverage, the number of companies with work-at-home programs or policy guidelines remains small.

　　這就是為什么盡管有廣泛的報導，具有在家工作項目或行動綱領的公司數目依然很少的部分原因。

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