I wonder if you noticed anything different about your trip to work yesterday. Thursday May 15 was National Work from Home day, part of the campaign by Work Wise UK (www.workwiseuk.org) to bring a bit of common sense to our workday culture and, in particular, to our commuting habits.
Home working is just one of the smarter working practices being promoted by Work Wise, which is now in its third year. Other issues that the campaigner is currently tackling include better flexible working arrangements, such as condensed hours and nine-day fortnights, and mobile working.
Work Wise supporting partner, The RAC Foundation estimates that some 25 million people commute to and from a fixed place of work in the UK, of which 18 million people either drive or are passengers in cars, with the remaining seven million taking alternative means such as public transport.
The Eddington Transport Study (www.dft.gov.uk), published at the end of 2006, came up with some startling statistics on population mobility in this small and overcrowded island. The UK transport system, as a whole, is estimated to support a staggering 61 billion journeys a year; just a 5 per cent reduction in travel time for all business travel on the roads could generate around GBP2.5 billion of cost savings – some 0.2 per cent of GDP. Moreover, eliminating existing congestion on the roads (which Sir Rod Eddington concedes is unlikely to be achieved as fully as we would like) could actually be worth some GBP7-8 billion of GDP per annum. These sums are clearly not trivial.
With no analysis available in the immediate aftermath of the National Work from Home day (when this newsletter was broadcast) it is difficult to comment on its outcome. However, there is no question that the exercise, if successful, would have revealed some significant and measurable benefits. If just a few million of us fortunate enough to be able to conduct at least some of our work activities at home did actually take part, the roads would have been noticeably clearer, public transport less crowded than usual, pollution levels down and CO2 emissions reduced.
BT is one of a number of large companies and organisations supporting the Work Wise UK campaign. The aggregated savings in commuter travel by BT home-workers are in excess of 20 million miles per year (based on each commuter avoiding 100 commutes per year of 15 miles round trip each). Smarter working has allowed BT to reduce the number of offices it operates from 159 to 94. This means 18,545 fewer workstations and a reduction in floor space of 222,500 square metres, saving the company GBP88 million annually in rates, rent, building maintenance and associated facilities.
TUC general secretary Brendan Barber believes that working from home is a sensible move for both individuals and their employers. Employees avoid the stress of commuting and work better in the absence of the usual office distractions; employers benefit because their staff feel more relaxed and trusted, and are generally more productive.
“Smart employers know this already,” says Mr Barber. “Now it’s time for the rest to wake up to the benefits of flexible working. Workers stuck with old-fashioned, rigid patterns of working want access to flexi-time and home working. Employers who fail to move with the times are likely to find their ability to attract and retain the best staff becomes increasingly difficult.”
Right. I think its time to feed the cat and make another cup of tea…..
Les Hunt
Editor
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