Flexible working methods are widely available through
technology, but businesses in the UK are
failing to utilise them in favour of old fashioned nine to five in
the office.
The Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) claims that UK
businesses are missing out on the benefits of flexible working as
they lag behind their European counterparts.
According to its latest report into flexible working, only 20%
of UK employers offer tele-working, compared to about 40% in
Germany, Sweden and Denmark.
Mobile technology, along with commoditised IT products have made
out-of-office working both affordable and effective, but UK
employers have not taken on the mantra.
Jenny Watson, Chair of the EOC said, flexible working options,
such as tele-working have been shown to increase productivity,
improve staff engagement, and are better placed to deal with
customer needs. “But the reality for the majority of British
workers is still presenteeism and long hours. The time has now come
for this [flexible working] to spread across the workforce to reach
the UK's 29 million workers.”
Phil Flaxton, chief executive at Work Wise UK, a not-for-profit
initiative that encourages “smarter working practices” to the
benefit of business and employees, said: “UK management needs to
stop making excuses and modernise. Smarter working practices are
not only infinitely better for the workforce, they actually improve
productivity. BT, a major employer in the UK, has reported
productivity improvements of 20% where it has introduced smarter
working practices.”
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Equal Opportunities Commission
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Work Wise
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