A1 Level – Elementary
1. Do you work from home?
2. What is your favorite place to work at home?
3. Do you like video calls for meetings?
4. What makes remote work difficult?
5. What is the difference between an office and a home office?
6. Do you see your colleagues often?
7. What makes a good internet connection important?
8. What is a common way to take a break when working from home?
9. Do you think remote work is the future?
10. What is a common distraction at home?
11. Do you wear formal clothes for remote work?
12. What makes remote work comfortable?
13. What is the opposite of remote work?
14. What are some different types of online tools?
15. Do you feel lonely when working alone?
A2 Level – Pre-Intermediate
1. What are the key differences between fully remote work and a hybrid work schedule?
2. Describe one challenge of remote work that you did not expect (e.g., overworking).
3. What are the pros and cons of having flexible working hours in a remote job?
4. What role does self-discipline play in maintaining productivity while working from home?
5. Have you ever had a communication problem with a remote teammate due to time zone differences?
6. What specific rules or boundaries should people set to separate their work life from their home life?
7. What is the difference between synchronous (live) and asynchronous (delayed) communication in a remote team?
8. What are common challenges when a manager tries to build team spirit in a remote environment?
9. How does technology (e.g., project management software) facilitate effective remote collaboration?
10. What are the biggest challenges of finding a quiet, professional workspace in a small apartment?
11. What is the importance of video calls in maintaining social connection with remote colleagues?
12. Do you think remote work is fundamentally fairer for people with physical disabilities?
13. What are the challenges of setting up an ergonomic and healthy home office space?
14. What are the best ways for remote teams to celebrate successes or milestones?
15. What is the difference between working from a home office and working from a co-working space?
B1 Level – Intermediate
1. Discuss the difficulty of turning off the “work brain” when your office is literally in your home.
2. How can companies foster a culture of trust and autonomy in remote workers instead of relying on surveillance?
3. What are the ethical issues surrounding companies that pay remote workers less based on their lower cost of living?
4. Do you agree that remote work has fundamentally changed the social function of the traditional office space?
5. Describe a time when a lack of face-to-face interaction created a communication breakdown in a remote team.
6. To what extent should companies cover the costs of home office equipment, utilities, and internet access?
7. What role do informal water-cooler chats and social gatherings play in team bonding that remote work misses?
8. How do cultural norms about management style influence the success and acceptance of remote work policies?
9. Discuss the psychological phenomenon of “Zoom fatigue”—exhaustion from excessive video conferencing.
10. What are the challenges of providing equal mentorship and promotion opportunities to remote versus in-office employees?
11. How does the concept of “digital nomadism” (working while constantly traveling) affect a person’s long-term career stability?
12. Should mandatory return-to-office policies be enforced, and what are the arguments for and against them?
13. What is the difference between working remotely full-time and working in a hybrid arrangement?
14. Discuss the concept of “asynchronous work” and its potential for a more flexible global workforce.
15. What is the long-term impact of widespread remote work on the economies of city centers?
B2 Level – Upper-Intermediate
1. How does the widespread adoption of remote work affect the economic viability of commercial real estate and public transport systems?
2. What are the ethical arguments about companies using employee monitoring software that tracks keystrokes and screen activity?
3. Should governments establish legal protections for the “right to disconnect” to protect remote workers’ personal time?
4. What are the psychological reasons why some remote workers struggle with isolation and the lack of spontaneous social interaction?
5. How has the ability to work from anywhere led to a “brain drain” of talent from high-cost cities to lower-cost regions?
6. Discuss the idea that remote work is a major step toward democratizing access to high-quality jobs globally.
7. What is the role of legal frameworks (e.g., labor laws, taxation) in managing employees who work across international borders?
8. How do our cultural narratives about “the office” influence managers’ trust in their remote employees?
9. What are the challenges of managing data security and intellectual property when employees are using personal home networks?
10. Discuss the concept of “proximity bias”—managers subconsciously favoring employees they see in person over remote workers.
11. What is the difference between flexible working hours and the constant expectation of being available?
12. Should companies invest in advanced virtual reality (VR) technologies to create a more immersive “virtual office”?
13. What is the impact of remote work on the ability of labor unions to organize and represent workers effectively?
14. How does the history of telecommuting movements (from the 1970s) relate to the current remote work trend?
15. Discuss the idea that the future of work will inevitably be hybrid, blending the best of both models.
C1 Level – Advanced
1. Analyze the socioeconomic factors that correlate with which industries and skill sets are most easily adapted to a remote work model.
2. To what degree should the legal system restrict the ability of companies to hire “global contractors” to avoid local labor laws?
3. Discuss the philosophical concept of “autonomy” and how remote work can either maximize or diminish employee self-governance.
4. Evaluate the impact of widespread remote work on reducing carbon emissions from daily commuting.
5. How does the strategic use of communication channels (e.g., prioritizing asynchronous communication) influence team power dynamics?
6. Examine the legal challenges of determining which country’s labor law applies to a digital nomad working across multiple jurisdictions.
7. What ethical guidelines should govern the use of biometric data (e.g., webcam monitoring) to ensure remote workers are “at their desks”?
8. Discuss the concept of “digital inequality” and how it prevents low-income workers from accessing remote work opportunities.
9. How do different national tax policies on corporate presence affect a company’s decision to maintain remote employees abroad?
10. Analyze the interplay between the massive market for home delivery services and the increasing convenience of the remote work lifestyle.
11. What ethical challenges arise when new remote work tools create a sense of permanent, enforced collaboration without true human connection?
12. Debate whether a system of total geographical freedom in work will ultimately lead to a leveling of global wages or a new class divide.
13. How does the architecture of new residential developments reflect the demand for dedicated, high-quality home office space?
14. Discuss the concept of “virtual presenteeism”—feeling obligated to be online and visible beyond actual work needs.
15. To what extent does the emotional attachment to the “physical office” create inertia against a fully remote future?
C2 Level – Proficiency
1. How do you analyze the idea that remote work is fundamentally a disruption of the geographic basis of community and citizenship?
2. Formulate a critique of the organizational failure to distinguish between *managing tasks* and *managing people* in a remote context.
3. Analyze the intersection of international taxation, labor law, and the definition of a “permanent establishment” for remote workers.
4. Discuss the philosophical distinction between “physical presence” (in the office) and “cognitive presence” (in the work task).
5. Critically evaluate the effectiveness of government initiatives to retrain workers whose jobs are not suitable for remote adaptation.
6. Propose a new global regulatory framework for remote work that harmonizes labor protections and tax obligations for digital nomads.
7. Examine the psychological function of ritual and routine in maintaining mental boundaries in a life where work and home are physically merged.
8. How does the semiotics of video call backgrounds (e.g., virtual vs. real home) communicate social status and professional identity?
9. Discuss the ethical responsibilities of technology platforms in ensuring that remote work tools do not inherently enable overwork or surveillance.
10. Analyze the historical relationship between cycles of technological innovation and the subsequent reassessment of the spatial requirements of labor.
11. Articulate the inherent tension between the employer’s demand for full control over the process and the remote worker’s demand for autonomy over their space.
12. Debate whether the future dominance of AI and automation will render the distinction between “remote” and “in-office” work irrelevant.
13. Assess the long-term societal effects of widespread remote work on urban density, traffic, and the environmental footprint of cities.
14. Discuss the philosophical definition of ‘community’ when professional social interactions are predominantly virtual and asynchronous.
15. How might the principles of remote collaboration be used to model processes of complex international diplomatic negotiation?
