A remote work trial

Answer: “A portable connection device.”. Evidence: “The company lent her a portable connection device”. Check “A more reliable laptop for working offline.”: This is not the item named for this action. Check “A quiet room in another house.”: The text does not give this detail. Do not add it.

Answer: “A quiet period for detailed work.”. Evidence: “the biggest improvement for me was having a quiet period for detailed work.”. Check “The money saved on travel.”: This is one detail, but it does not answer the main question. Evidence: “I was sure the main benefit would be saving the cost of travel. That was useful”. Check “Faster replies to every message during detailed work.”: This says the opposite of the relevant detail. Evidence: “before answering messages.”.

Answer: “The busiest month was not included in the trial.”. Evidence: “our busiest month of the year fell outside the trial. We cannot assume that the same arrangement would work equally well then.”. Check “The trial covered only the company’s busiest month.”: This says the opposite of the relevant detail. Check “Project completions were not recorded during the trial.”: This says the opposite of the relevant detail. Evidence: “We kept a weekly record of completed projects”.

Answer: “Tuesdays and Thursdays.”. Evidence: “We worked from home on Tuesdays and Thursdays”. Check “Two days chosen separately by each employee.”: This was the earlier plan, not the final one. Evidence: “The manager had originally suggested choosing our own two days”. Check “Wednesdays and Saturdays.”: This is not the day stated for this event.

Answer: “Putting the laptop away at six and disabling notifications.”. Evidence: “I eventually put it away at six and turned off notifications.”. Check “Checking messages once more after six.”: This says the opposite of the relevant detail. Check “Using the connection device lent to the colleague.”: This gives the action or role to the wrong person or group. Evidence: “The company lent her a portable connection device”.

Answer: “A mixture of home-working and office days.”. Evidence: “For me, a mixture works better: time alone for concentration and regular days together for sharing ideas.”. Check “Working at home every day.”: This says the opposite of the relevant detail. Check “A permanent return to the office without another trial.”: This says the opposite of the relevant detail.

Answer: “To make meetings and office cover easier to plan.”. Evidence: “Shared home-working days made it easier to plan meetings and keep the office open for clients.”. Check “To avoid having any staff in the office on client days.”: This says the opposite of the relevant detail. Evidence: “keep the office open for clients.”. Check “To give each employee a different pair of days at home.”: This was the earlier plan, not the final one. Evidence: “The manager had originally suggested choosing our own two days”.

Answer: “Six weeks.”. Evidence: “The trial lasted six weeks.”. Check “A full year.”: The text does not give this detail. Do not add it. Check “Two weekdays.”: This mixes up the time of this event with another time. Evidence: “We worked from home on Tuesdays and Thursdays”.

Answer: “They recorded completed projects and asked clients about response times.”. Evidence: “We kept a weekly record of completed projects and asked clients about response times.”. Check “They compared travel savings with those at a larger company.”: The text does not give this detail. Do not add it. Check “They used staff savings on travel as the only measure.”: This uses a different test of success from the one in the text.

Answer: “The arrangement will continue for three months and be reviewed again.”. Evidence: “The manager has agreed to continue it for another three months and review the evidence again.”. Check “Home-working will become permanent before another review.”: This makes the statement wider or stronger than the text allows. Check “Employees will choose any two days for the next six weeks.”: This was the earlier plan, not the final one. Evidence: “The manager had originally suggested choosing our own two days”.