Remote working is an increasingly big issue for ITers - whether
they are doing it themselves or setting up the technology to help
other people do it. And anyone who spends a lot of time out of the
office needs to have the appropriate tools to get their job done,
writes Roisin Woolnough.
There has been a lot of talk about how different gadgets have
revolutionised the lives of the mobile professional. While some of
these claims are totally unsubstantiated, for those people whose
jobs require them to travel a lot, there is no doubt that
technology has enabled them to continue doing regular work while
they are out of the office - even if many of the devices do not
live up to the hype.
Simple things like having your telephone fixed so that calls are
rerouted to you wherever you are or being able to access company
intranets and e-mail accounts remotely can make a tremendous
difference.
Diego MacKee, marketing director at Nextra, the Internet arm of
Norweigan telecommunications company Telenor, says it is essential
that resources are made available to people to enable them to keep
on top of work as much as possible while they travel. Otherwise,
when they return to the office, they can face a massive task to get
through the mountain of work that has built up in their absence.
"People who travel a lot sometimes don't get work done because they
are travelling," says MacKee. "This is why employers have to give
people access to a network that lets them work out of the office in
exactly the same fashion as if they were in the office."
According to MacKee, employers across Europe believe there will be
a substantial increase in the number of employees who take up
remote working in the next couple of years. This is not just mobile
IT users, but also people who work from home.
Although many employers are still wary of letting employees
organise their own working day, the concept of homeworking has
gained acceptance among both employers and employees in recent
years.
BT is one company that has embraced homeworking. "There is a policy
in BT where any office-based person can apply to become a
homeworker," explains David Cordy, a workstyle consultant at BT.
"The criteria is that their work is suitable for homeworking."
Of BT's global workforce of approximately 60,000, Cordy says 4,500
are formally home-based and over 40,000 have remote access
capability.
Research carried out by Telenor found that most professionals would
like to at least have the option to work from home, even if it is
only on an occasional basis. Over 70% of those interviewed say
offering employees the option of teleworking is a sign of a
forward-thinking company.
On a personal level, 68% say one of the primary reasons for working
from home is that the flexibility would enable them to plan their
working day to best suit their needs, improving their work/life
balance. This is particularly important for people with family
commitments.
MacKee thinks a company's policy on homeworking and flexible
working will become an increasingly important recruitment and
retention issue, something that IT employers are very aware of as
they struggle to find and retain staff.
A recent survey by financial recruiter CitiPeople.com found that
almost half of the City workers polled believe stress at work would
be reduced if there was a better work/life balance. The Ideal City
Workplace report revealed that many of the 850 people who took part
in the survey think the opportunity to telework would counter
stress, with more than a third saying they would like to work from
home.
Employers and employees need to think very carefully about the
implications of homeworking before it is agreed, even if the person
involved only intends to work from home one day a week.
But having the necessary technology in place is only one aspect of
it. Cordy says policies and procedures need to be agreed from the
word go to ensure that the whole process works well for the
individual, the employer, colleagues and of course, any customers.