Working from home is the way forward

Working from home used to be impossible for most jobs, but today’s technology means that many workers can stay in their domestic comfort zone all week. Remote working is viewed by many employers and employees as a positive step forward for both successful business and a healthy work/life balance.

Remote working has become a popular option for parents with young children, but it has a far wider appeal and offers many benefits to both employers and employees. Organisations embracing remote working can cut their running costs and office space, increase productivity and make a significant contribution to the environment. For employees, the benefits can be enormous and life changing.

The fact is that many people can quite easily do their jobs from home. Even just working from home for one day a week will have a profound impact upon traffic congestion and public transport overcrowding; just look what happens during the school holidays.

Working from home is proven to significantly improve productivity, enabling businesses to be more competitive. The flexibility of working from home enhances the work/life balance for employees, with added health benefits and increased leisure time benefits.

Work Wise UK is a major five-year initiative to encourage the widespread adoption of new smarter working practices, such as home working, across the UK.

Smarter working practices revolutionise the way people work and how businesses operate. As well as increasing business productivity and competitiveness, remote working results in a reduction in transport congestion and pollution. On a staffing level, remote working further opens up the workplace for people with disabilities who struggle with getting to work on public transport and for workers with family commitments. Even though employees work the same hours, the absence of commuting time means that parents can be around to take their children to and from school.

Many businesses have reported that the introduction of smarter working practices has resulted in improvements in employee relations and staff retention. BT, one of the UK’s major employers, has experienced a 20% increase in productivity following the introduction of smarter working.

Phil Flaxton, chief executive of Work Wise UK, says: “Technology is enabling people to work virtually anywhere. For many, there is absolutely no reason to waste hours commuting into central locations every day of the week. Why not work from home occasionally?”