Workplace Dynamics Shift Towards Teleworking And Greater Flexibility

[Newshound]

The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) say the number of people 'teleworking' from home has risen dramatically over the past few years as employers offer more work flexibility than ever, a survey revealed today (15 Sep 08).

In the latest CBI / Pertemps Employment Trends Survey, almost half of all employers (46%) said they now offered teleworking to staff....

Read the full article here


Another article on the Management Issues web site cites similar trends in the US and points out some of the benefits of teleworking .

You can read that article on the Management Issues site here

[anne]

Yes it works I am an Aussie London based working for a large multinational and over 1/4 of our contracts would be home based. It works really well when people can shift their attitudes to measure productivity instead of hours in a office. I think back in Australia we are still a little behind the times on this one.

[kevinh]

It is happening here in Australia, but from what I know teleworking it is more prevalent with smaller, more dynamic companies or in larger companies only at a senior level. It requires a certain mindset from both the employer and the employee and it's not going to suit everyone. From an employee perspective it is only going to work with diligent, 'engaged' staff who do not need supervision. Surveys show that there are a significant percentage of workers who are not 'engaged' in what they are doing - if you can't get someone to work productively in the office, they're definitely not going to be productive from home!

From an employer perspective you need to have complete confidence in your staff that are working from home and feel comfortable that they will "do the right thing".

It also has IT and security implications. Everyone whom I know who works from home, including our staff, have a notebook PC and that in itself increases risk considerably.

There are however benefits to companies who do embrace teleworking and other flexible work practices. In particular they can attract high calibre people who simply are not prepared to work full time, usually because of family responsibilities.

Maybe it is more prevalent in the UK because of congestion on the roads and the high cost of fuel and public transport (particularly the trains!)

[anne]

Very true - actually our biggest saving is the money we save in office space.