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Home, sweet home

Employees say they are ready for it and the technology is in place, so what is the homeworking revolution waiting for?

As technical infrastructure barriers come down and next-generation networks rise in their place, homeworking (or non-central office-based working) has become realistic for many more organisations and their employees. When it comes to balancing that tricky work-life equation it certainly offers a solution which is increasingly hard for employers to ignore.

In a nationwide study into homeworking trends undertaken in July 2007, ntl:Telewest Business found that 70% of those surveyed were permanently office-based, leaving the other 30% – a significant proportion of the UK workforce and increasing all the time – working from home in some way.

Not surprisingly, the survey reveals that most employees are in favour of working from the comfort of their own homes. But there are plenty of benefits for the employer too, not least of which is fulfilling legal obligations; parents of children under six and of disabled children under 18 can request a range of flexible working patterns from their employers, including the right to work from home. Employees who are carers of adults are also entitled to request flexible working.

Yet employers are reluctant to read the writing on the wall, says Tony Corbin, Programme Manager for Hampshire County Council and the MATISSE (Mobile And Teleworking Initiative for a Smarter South East) initiative. ‘While the number of teleworkers has increased in the last decade, the expected acceleration in numbers has not really happened, despite the technology which becomes more affordable and reliable year on year,’ he says. ‘What is slow to change is management attitudes. Our recent research in Hampshire shows many managers are still keen to manage on the basis of ‘presenteeism’, rather than
the more complex, but infinitely more satisfactory, results or outputs-based measurement techniques.’

Tony acknowledges that there are potential drawbacks for employers but says these can be overcome with good management. ‘While some still fear the technology, a greater concern is performance management, together with the motivation and control of remote teams,’ he explains. ‘Another understandable concern is the effort needed to modify working terms and conditions, including any tax or benefit implications. On the latter, the Government could make things easier for employers. ‘Above all, the move to mobile working has to be treated by organisations as a properly managed change programme and therefore needs a boardlevel champion, clear objectives and a means by which progress can be measured.’

Business benefits

The key areas of impact which homeworking has on business include a reduction in commuting, office overheads and absenteeism, enhanced recruitment and retention, and an improvement in the health and personal productivity of employees. Commuting has an obvious impact both on the environment and on the wellbeing of employees, and many organisations are under pressure to introduce ‘greener’ policies. Meanwhile a large proportion of the costs of a typical UK business is dedicated to the ongoing maintenance of office space, yet the ntl:Telewest Business survey indicates that many UK offices are under-utilised. The very technology that allows people to communicate while on the move means empty desks. Organisations could use that same technology to make significant changes to the costs associated with maintaining offices and other premises, even to the extent of reducing the amount of office space held.

UK companies lose billions of pounds each year through employee absenteeism, some of which would undoubtedly be reduced through more homeworking. Office-based work can lead to a similar level of daily germ exposure as in a school playground. Employers have become largely resigned to having to factor an assumed level of employee absenteeism caused by minor illnesses into their operational planning. The survey even showed that many workers would improve their diets if at home: 50% said they would eat less fatty or pre-packed food while working from home compared to working in the office, 49% would eat less food overall and 36% would drink less caffeine!

Homeworking options also have a positive effect on recruitment and retention – by widening the recruitment base and boosting the chance of recruiting successfully, and by allowing trained staff to remain despite changes in their circumstances. Personal productivity is also a big selling point for the homeworking option. For employees working in a fast-changing business environment, the ability to tackle build-ups of work and concentrate without the distractions of a busy office can boost overall productivity. Surveys suggest that home workers, far from taking it easy, work up to 30% more efficiently
than their office-based colleagues.

Mobile technology: what and why

Mobile technology, as the name implies, enables operational flexibility, efficiency and ease of use across the entire workforce, regardless of where individuals are working. Being in the office is less vital than ever. With the emergence of wireless technology, the user doesn’t need a fixed connection. IT has escaped the office, too, thanks to laptop and palmtop computers and PDAs.

On a fleeting visit to the office, mobile devices can reconnect to the network using cables or wireless technology and synchronise data with databases and file servers. The mobile phone is also freeing people up in geographic terms. Current high-end phones offer advanced capabilities, such as email, web access and simplified office applications. Cellular telephony also offers data transmission services, such as Global System for Mobile (GSM) communications, which allows mobile phones to send and receive data, and General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), an ‘always-on’ data service similar to broadband.

But what happens when only a face-to-face meeting will do? These are still possible but without people needing to be in the same room, thanks to advanced packages such as IP Multimedia, which integrates voice, data and video. So, the benefits – to the environment, to the individual and to the productivity and profitability of businesses – seem to be proven. The gremlins that once plagued the technology have been banished and the costs are no longer prohibitive. All that remains is for companies to be convinced of these developments, and that they will still be ‘in charge’ of their employees, and the homeworking era will have dawned.

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