The UK’s TUC, CBI, British Chambers of Commerce, Equality and Human Rights Commission and StaffShare are backing a national initiative during the week of 16 May 2011 to promote “smarter” working practices such as flexible, remote and mobile working, as well as working from home.
The week – organised by Work Wise UK, a national not-for-profit initiative, now in its sixth year – culminates in a ‘National Work from Home Day’ on Friday 20th May 2011. The press release from Work Wise UK says that “during the recession and current age of austerity, many organisations have realised the benefits of smarter working practices. Enabling staff to work more flexibly has saved costs and at the same time significantly increased staff wellbeing.”
The concept of working from home long-term is already familiar to an older generation of workers who may have been affected by previous recessions. The trick with an initiative like this is surely to encourage discipline when working from home, and ensure factors like IT security area also addressed.
On the former point, for those who are new to working from home, they might find it difficult to get into a working day if there are no boundaries to the day (such as travelling to and from the office on the daily commute). It also requires significant self-discipline to carry out tasks as if you would in an office.
On the second point related to IT security, with data losses and breaches causing potential havoc as seen by several examples in recent years, it is something employers may wish to take into account before letting workers and their data go wandering unchecked.
For further information about Work Wise Week and National Work from Home Day, visit the Work Wise UK website.
