Teleworking

Teleworking is first and foremost about flexible working and work-life balance. The benefits to both employee and employer are clear...

Productivity - there is evidence that teleworking is associated with improvements in productivity (variously estimated at between 10% and 30%).

Savings on office premises - it has been estimated that a full-scale introduction of teleworking combined with major corporate reorganisation could reduce office space by up to 50%.

Infrastructure and hardware - initial hardware set-up costs are low and high-speed ADSL Internet access is cheap.

Ongoing costs - ADSL services are charged at a fixed flat rate. GOWORK also provides monthly fixed rate services for VoIP, end user support, and application sharing, removing any of the uncertainty traditionally associated with ongoing costs.

Work-life balance of employees - for many employers, the primary reason for introducing teleworking is to enable employees to achieve a better balance between their paid work and the rest of their lives.

The Spring 2002 Labour Force Survey shows that 7% of employees seeking alternative employment do so because they are unsatisfied with their journey to work.

Recent commuting statistics show that 11% of people working in London face a journey time exceeding 90 minutes, a further 21% between 60 and 90 minutes and 19% between 40 and 60 minutes.

According to the Internet Service Providers Association, BT currently has 4,000 home workers in the UK, making a saving of 12.5 million commuter miles per year and saving 1,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions.

GOWORK

... the online workers evolution

The term 'teleworking' embraces a range of different choices, which have to be made, by both employer and employee, within the organisation and location of work. These opportunities have partly been created by the combination of cheap computing hardware and high-speed telecommunication links.

Teleworking can be applied across a broad and diverse array of 'knowledge' occupations, from the most senior executive to the most junior position, and can refer to working patterns ranging from full mobile working, to occasional home-based working, to membership of a 'virtual team'.

Technology is an enabler for change and as such can be used in support of a successful teleworking solution.

Teleworking technology in itself also holds many benefits, and as a technology, teleworking is about information access, knowledge sharing, and communication. All three are vital ingredients for businesses and organisations that are looking to get the most out of their knowledge-based workforce and at the same time guard against criticism of remote worker isolation.

High speed ADSL Internet connections with VPN and firewall technologies, enable data to be shared between remote branch offices and mobile workforces, so that instead of each office, site, and individual operating independently, your company or organisation can function as a synchronous unit. Giving remote employees access to their applications and telephony systems is one of the main ways that remote workers can feel part of the business and part of a 'live' operation.

Both businesses and employees can benefit from flexible working. However, to make it work successfully it needs to be undertaken in an environment of trust with an agreed structure and framework.

... GOWORK can prepare you now for what experts believe is a revolution in the way businesses and organisations operate.

Teleworking links

The Emergence Project
The introduction of new information and communications technologies has been accompanied by major shifts in the location of employment, both within and between European regions, and globally.

Employers for Work-life Balance
Work-life balance benefits organisations, individuals and the UK as a whole. When people have a measure of control over when, where and how they work, they enjoy a better quality of life. Organisations benefit through increased productivity, lower overheads and satisfied customers.

Gil Gordon Associates (US) - Telecommuting, Telework and Alternative Officing
This site consolidates a wide variety of information from around the world, and from many different perspectives, on the subjects of telecommuting, teleworking, the virtual office, and related topics.

Scottish Enterprise
Exactly what is 'broadband'? How will getting connected benefit your business? Scottish Enterprise have developed a site to help you find out what the different broadband technologies are, where they are available, and how to get your business connected.

The Telework Association (TCA)
The Telework Association provides advice on how to approach teleworking, information on technology, and examples of how other people progress.

Teleworking Guidance (DTI)
The UK Government has launched new guidance on Teleworking. This publication is aimed at assisting employers and employees in getting to grips with the practical issues around this increasingly popular, flexible form of working. (258k PDF)

Travel for Work - Teleworking
This practical Toolkit Guide to Teleworking is designed to help employers and staff think through the issues involved in introducing teleworking.

Work-Life Balance (DTI)
Work-life balance practices benefit both employers and employees. Research has shown that savings and profits for businesses increase. It also shows that the quality of people's work improves for those who have work-life balance.

The Work-Life Research Centre - Manchester Metropolitan University
The main aim of the Work-Life Research Centre is to provide a forum for the exchange of information, research findings, experience, perspectives and practices across a variety of audiences, in Britain and abroad, including researchers, practitioners, trainers, policy-makers, and other groups interested in work-life issues.

Note: GOWORK provides external links purely for the website users convenience and the inclusion of any link does not imply endorsement by GOWORK.