It's telling that the global covid-19 outbreak has taken a toll on the world economy. The Purchasing Managers Index in Asia has taken a nosedive; besides, lease rates of the Baltic Dry Index- a measure of shipping costs-are also down by two thirds since early December, according to Jeremy Cliffe's latest column published by the New Statesman, which is an influential publication just like The Economist and The Spectator in the U.K. And there are signs that consumer spending is falling and trade flows are slowing, roiled by supply-chain disruptions and fears of a global pandemic.

At the same time, The global covid-19 outbreak also offers a chance for companies and employees to change the way they do their work, with more and more companies asking desk-jockeys to work from home instead of toiling in their poorly ventilated offices or cubicles. And that means you can sit on your chintz sofa or even sing a song while coping with paperwork without being harassed by officious colleagues and your tetchy boss. Simply put, you are the king of the world in a situation like this.

That's good news for companies scrambling to curb their bloated travel expenses and come to terms with travel ban imposed over Covid-19 in some nations. Technology giants like Google and Microsoft have already used teleconferencing tools and even suggested "offering free access to their teleconferencing tools to help businesses and schools continue operating in spite of the global coronavirus outbreak."

That's also what's going on in China, where many employees are said to embrace teleworking with glee, particularly some working moms who are forced to stay at home to take care their children after China decided to close schools in a bid to fend off the onslaught of Covid-19 outbreak. " I have to fess up that I'm in my element when I work from home, " a Chinese mom says blithely. "You know it allows me to manage my own time efficiently and save me some hassle. In a word, I don't have to fret about having an eagle-eyed or poker-faced gaffer hanging around as if I were were being watched by a spook."

Yet you also find some parents' gripes being echoed by other families that have surly kids in China. " When is my son going back to school? I can't put up with it anymore. He seems to have become an idler or even wastrel since he spends all his time playing games or watching videos offered by Douyin", says a Chinese mom on Weibo. " He is supposed to be studying. There is nothing I can do about this since he doesn't have to go to school now," says the mom glumly.