logo
episode-header-image
Feb 2024
18m 29s

Would you like to work 'near' home?

Bbc World Service
About this episode

Work from home, or go into the office? For many businesses and workers it's an ongoing conversation at the moment.

But could there be a third way - working 'near' home?

New co-working spaces are providing a place for people to do their job close to where they live, but not at home which can be unsuitable and isolating.

We also look at the WeWork model - the billion-dollar business filed for bankruptcy protection in the US last year - does that mean the concept isn't viable long term?

Produced and presented by Dougal Shaw.

(Image: A Patch co-working space in southern England. Credit: Benoit Grogan-Avignon)

Up next
Yesterday
The impact of 'thirsty' data centres
We're in the US state of Georgia, where huge data centres need water to keep cool. But how is this need for cloud storage and AI capability affecting local residents and the environment?Presenter: Michelle Fleury Producer: Nathalie Jimenez(Image: Georgia resident Beverly Morris l ... Show More
17m 50s
Jul 8
Does university still get you a well-paid job?
Graduates are facing one of the toughest jobs markets in decades. We hear from students in India, the US and UK about whether they feel a university or college degree is worth it as we discuss the cost of attending university around the world and what your job prospects might be ... Show More
17m 27s
Jul 7
Returning to Ukraine?
The UN estimates that nearly seven million Ukrainians have left their home country since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. Many have set up businesses in their new country - around 90,000 of those in Poland. We hear about the challenges they’ve faced, and the sectors ... Show More
17m 30s
Recommended Episodes
Oct 2021
Hybrid working
In 2020, the pandemic hit, and the world locked down. Suddenly white-collar staff went from working in the office, to working remotely. But now we are opening up, will people want to return? Hybrid working has become the buzzword of employers across the country, allowing individu ... Show More
28m 23s
Aug 2023
Is work from home working?
Working from home became the norm for millions of us around the globe during the Covid-19 pandemic, but now three years on some major employers are insisting on their employees returning to the office, for at least some part of the working week.The levels of working from home cur ... Show More
23m 54s
Oct 2020
Safe Workplaces
What will it take for you to feel safe at work again? Dan and Alison answer your questions with the help of Ethan Bernstein, a professor at Harvard Business School. They talk through what to do when your essential employees are staying home despite increased safety measures, you ... Show More
32m 58s
Sep 2023
Back to the office
Many employers say they are desperate to get staff back into the office more often, but what's the best and fairest way to wean employees off remote working?As companies from tech to banking grapple with this issue, Evan Davis and guests discuss the productivity pros and cons, th ... Show More
28m 49s
Sep 2023
​​To go or not to go ... into the office?
Remote work is here to stay — but even for companies that did it pre-pandemic, new challenges are popping up. Dean’s accounting firm has 4,000 employees, and people once happily alternated between working from home and the office. But recently there's been a shift, and the once-t ... Show More
25m 32s
Nov 2022
Could foreign workers unlock America's tight labor market?
The U.S. economy added 261,000 jobs in October, meaning there are still about two jobs available for each unemployed person. Could expanding the H2-B visa program for temporary foreign workers help America's tight labor market? For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Plan ... Show More
9m 22s
Mar 2021
Workplace Design, Post-Pandemic (Back to Work, Better)
Anne-Laure Fayard, associate professor at NYU’s Tandon School of Engineering, was studying the effects of workplace design on employees long before the Covid-19 crisis. Now, she says, the trend of flexible schedules and hybrid offices - where some people come in, others work from ... Show More
24m 44s
Mar 2022
¿Volver a la oficina o trabajar desde casa?
Durante la pandemia, muchos tuvimos que trabajar desde casa. Cuando encontrarnos en persona vuelve a ser posible, ¿cuál es la mejor manera de trabajar? ¿Volvemos a la oficina? ¿Seguimos desde casa? ¿Buscamos soluciones híbridas? En su charla en TEDxPuraVidaSalon, Andrea Tanzi ana ... Show More
8m 10s