Say Goodbye To Office? COVID-Style WFH Could Return Amid Record Fuel Costs

The International Energy Agency (IEA), which this month agreed a record release of oil from strategic stockpiles to deal with the effects of the US-Israel war with Iran, on Friday outlined proposals to ease oil price pressures on consumers, such as working from home and avoiding air travel. Within the three weeks of war, several countries such as Nepal, Pakistan and others have pushed companies to adopt a work-from-home policy in order to secure oil reserves. As of now, India has not asked any companies to adopt a coronavirus-like work-from-home policy; however, if the situation persists, it may be possible that the government would take similar steps.

Energy prices soared tremendously

The US-Israel war with Iran has driven up energy prices, causing concerns over inflation across the world. The IEA said its proposals were actions that governments, businesses and households could take to ease the pain on consumers from the recent spike in energy prices.

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The IEA said such proposals included working from home, reducing highway speed limits by at least 10 kilometres per hour, and avoiding air travel if other means of transport were available.

"We have recently launched the largest ever release of IEA emergency oil stocks, and I am in close contact with key governments around the world, including major energy producers and consumers, as part of our international energy diplomacy," said IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol in a statement.

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"In addition to this, today's report provides a menu of immediate and concrete measures that can be taken on the demand side by governments, businesses and households to shelter consumers from the impacts of this crisis," added Birol.

The IEA agreed on March 11 to release a record 400 million barrels of oil from strategic stockpiles to combat the spike in global crude prices, with the U.S. contributing the bulk of the supply.

(With inputs from agency)