Thank heavens for positive-thinking people; to be honest, I'm more of a "the glass is half empty" kind of guy, so I tend to notice the gray clouds and not the blue sky.
In contrast, this recent article discussing the affects of soaring fuel costs and its effect on the workplace manages to put a positive gloss on what could be seen as a very negative phenomenon.
Though the price of petrol has surged dramatically most place in the world, it's a reasonable assumption that Americans consume more petrol and drive more to work than most other people in other countries.
Even at the senior level of my job, in terms of experience and pay, I started to notice that our budget was taking a hit by filling up our modest family-sized car. But due to the realities of most peoples' lives, reducing petrol consumption is not a very realistic hope.
But how would those not as fortunate in their professional lives ever manage to keep up with the cost of petrol? How would those who bought "gas guzzlers" survive?
According to this article, companies are starting to take the hint and start changing the way we do business. Specifically, reasonable options such as telecommuting, four-day work weeks, gas reimbursements and car-pooling are now up for discussion in many companies.
The article continues that this is part of a new workplace revolution that helps connect the United States to the rest of the global workplace.
For most places, and definitely in the US, out of control petrol prices are going to force us to re-think the way we work or how we work together. Unfortunately, it's only now that problems have gotten out of hand that we're willing to look at measures that were "preventive" just a short time ago. It's just another instance of solving yesterday's problems today.
