Home-working Anywhere to work

Myths ‘The homeworking “revolution” never happened, so it never will’ ‘It is divisive and unfair to office staff who aren’t allowed to do it’ ‘It can mean lack of promotion’ ‘It is too expensive’ ’It could allow people to work for other companies without our knowledge’

Myths .... ‘The team in the office will have to work harder’ ‘Mainly helpful for women juggling work/childcare and disabled/ill employees’ ‘Can make people feel isolated and depressed’ ‘It is OK for managers but not for other staff’ ‘You can’t combine work and family in one building’

CEO – strategically valuable if .... Benefits CEO – strategically valuable if .... depend on attracting / keeping people with scarce skills avoid a move to larger premises reduce office overheads make services available outside normal office hours improve your time to market reduce work-related transport costs handle workload peaks and troughs more easily.

CEO ..... Provides .... easier re-location take advantage of ready supply of labour in different locality reduce time when field workers ‘touching base’ easier management of a regionally-based service basing workers nearer to clients or suppliers attracting and retaining staff with disabilities

CEO gets ..... retaining staff (spend time caring ) meet fluctuations in demand for work Get specialist skills needed only occasionally more flexible workforce more family-friendly working environment reducing spending on transport

Benefits .... Managers Workers more productive more reliable more loyal likely to improve quality of work (fewer distractions) take less time off (minor illnesses better endured at home) stay longer with organisation (personal circumstances met).

Managers’ challenges maintaining communication and feedback maintaining corporate and team culture ensuring that staff have opportunities for development monitoring training ensuring effective job review new skills – managing by results - feedback

Making it work Business case, not after-thought Company culture encouraging networking, personal responsibility & trusty Performance measures based on outputs Flexibility audits on employee need for FW Open to requests from everyone Treat as voluntary Be clear about rights & responsibilities Be clear about extent of informal HW

Making it work ..... Include unions & line managers in forming policy Give support/ example from top Include in FW options Learn from best practice of others Counter isolation, monitor demands of HW Ensure HW-ers not miss chance of promotion Reward HW-ers for self-management skills Resource suitably (fuel, use of premises)

Driving forces Technology Employee expectations of FW Government policies (national, EU)

Barriers Consistent practices – H&S, risk, confidentiality Challenge to manager’s authority Infringe employee privacy Measure by output & quality v hours worked Not all job suitable Not all want to HW Tax & health insurance Domestic commitments, living conditions Extra costs (fuel, home insurance)

Barriers ..... Concept of working time Management skills – cf project management Managers keeping HW-ers in touch Supporting trust not guesswork by rewards

Practice in 25 organisations 23 - should be voluntary 12 - happens ad hoc/informally. 4 - employees worked fully or mainly from home. 20 - employees who worked partly from home. 21 - no plans to evaluate their HW practices. 13 - saw HW as a flexible working/ family-friendly option. 13 - HW driven by a specific business need / part of normal working practices. 4 - office space economy was a driver. 5 - HW on a contractual basis for some employees

What is missing? Evaluation of HW systems Cost benefit analysis Projected growth of HW Retaining and recruiting quality staff Environmental/traffic impacts The impact of government policy

Pros for employer attracting/retaining staff in a competitive jobs market happier staff improved productivity/ ability to concentrate flexibility of location lower office costs boosting appeal of employer at recruitment meeting young people’s higher expectations of employers multi-skilling staff self-managing general flexibility

Pros ..... work without unnecessary interruptions no need to commute – which reduces stress better customer service – more time spent with clients than colleagues more freedom – boosts morale and encourages creativity balance between home and work life helps retain the best employees creates a culture of trust and personal responsibility job satisfaction via increased effectiveness quality work environment

Cons for employers has to be on trust – no checking systems potentially open to abuse more difficult for workers to leave work behind it’s always there tendency to work longer hours isolation status of employee suitability of employee less team spirit.

Cons .... remote management – eg, IT problems meeting delays are systems secure? fairness – not everyone can do it process of building organisational understanding high set-up costs face-to-face contact diminished offices hold access to company information too much productivity – burn-out reduced networking

Right for employees if ... commute long distance/ difficult journey to work live in area where little choice of work or job shortage have young children/ want more flexible working hours active in local community want to be available earlier in the evening caring responsibilities, difficult to work away frequently work unsociable hours

Right if ..... Work requires quiet concentration little control over interruptions regularly on call for out of hours responsibilities travel a lot for business purposes mobility or health problems/ conventional work places inaccessible part of team located in different sites work mainly involves contact outside company

Making the change (employee) Personal qualities self motivation ability to work without close supervision good time-management skills flexibility, resilience and self-reliance good communication skills - including new skills of communicating across electronic networks ability to cope with conflicting demands of home and work life.

Making the change ..... Circumstances Access to paper documents Bounce ideas of other colleagues In touch with others Social interaction Employment status remains same? Voluntary or compulsory? Access to training/promotions like others Transport changes? (shopping, no car)

Making the change ..... Home Working space Storage Extra costs Equipment, furniture, resources Legal issues (insurance, tax) View of home (refuge from work?) Affect on family Effects from family, friends