1. Home-working
Anywhere to work

2. 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’

3. 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’

4. 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.

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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).

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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)

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

12. 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)

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

14. Practice in 25 organisations
23 - should be voluntary
12 - happens ad hoc/informally.
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

15. 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

16. 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

17. 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

18. 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.

19. 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

20. 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

21. 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

22. 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.

23. 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)

24. 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