Working outside the office is the future according to
78% of office workers, with offices considered uninspiring by a
third, says research.
Findings from the survey of 1080 people carried out by The Work
Foundation and Microsoft also showed that over half would be
happier if there was a greater element of mobile working in their
jobs and 16% said that they would actually leave their jobs within
six months if their boss was not open to flexible working.
Technology today negates the need for workers to be in an office
on a daily basis and enables companies to
formalise flexible working.
"Far too many of us endure a daily commute, only to sit at our
desks and work on jobs that we could do from anywhere with an
internet connection. So when in the office, I urge office workers
to consider leaving their desks and taking the opportunity to go
and interact with their colleagues instead," said James McCarthy, a
mobile working expert at Microsoft.
McCarthy said the term office work needs to be redefined. "Far
too many of us endure a daily commute, only to sit at our desks and
work on jobs that we could do from anywhere with an internet
connection."
Nick Isles, director of advocacy at The Work Foundation, said
work is increasingly about the quality of outputs not just the
quantity of inputs, such as time spent at your desk. "Giving
office-based workers more control over when, where and how they
produce good work means being ultra flexible not begrudgingly
flexible."