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Time To Spread RW Philosophy
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A new survey shows that the UK is leading the Euro league table on remote working infrastructure...but we're lagging behind on 'take-up' numbers.
Across Europe, workers see their organisation?s flexible working rules and regulations as more prohibitive in their ability to work out of the office than the provision of remote working technology, according to a study compiled by communications networks and services provider Avaya Inc.
Of those surveyed, a third of European employers do not actively offer staff remote working as an option, yet 40% of European workers would like to be able to work out of the office more than they do currently.
Britain leads the list when implementing remote working practises - 72% of British workers are provided with the technology to work remotely, compared to 60% of Germans, 55% of Italians and 46% of French.
But the results of the survey demonstrate that the secret to successful remote working goes beyond the provision of a good infrastructure.
For example, while Britain has made great advances in Europe in the provision of a remote working network, the British are reported to be behind the other European countries surveyed in terms of the number of workers actually taking advantage of remote working. This indicates the importance of educating workers in the benefits of remote working, and developing corporate policies to encourage its uptake.
Of all Europeans, those most keen to adopt remote working are the Italians, with more than half stating that they would like to work out of the office more than they currently do. The French are the workers least interested in working remotely; just over a third say that they would like to work out of the office more.
Whilst the survey finds that European workers blame a lack of corporate policy over a lack of technology as the inhibiting factor in their ability to work out of the office, Avaya?s research shows that technology is a bigger issue than many workers give it credit for.
Only one in 20 workers cite a lack of technology as the inhibiting factor in their ability to work out of the office. However, on further questioning it emerged that nearly half of all Europeans, rising to a high of 57% in Italy, are unable to access phone messages or send and receive emails properly when out of the office, and more than four in ten are unable to access the documents they need.
Demonstrating a lack of understanding about the true potential of remote working, 87% of European workers state that they think their mobile phone is the key to working remotely.
These figures indicate that some employer organisations would be wise in re-assessing any remote working policies versus actual technology infrastructure in place to ensure they are completely aligned to make high levels of productivity possible. Educating employees on which corporate information, applications and databases are available to them remotely is also an essential step.
?There is concrete evidence of a clear correlation between technology investment and productivity, especially with the increasing numbers of remote/flexible workers. This is why the Government encourages ICT investment and sharing best practice to enhance the competitiveness of UK businesses,? comments Liz Grant, Director of e-Policy and Delivery at the UK Department of Trade and Industry United.
Lars-Ole Hansen, Avaya?s regional president, Europe, Middle East and Africa, comments: ?Our research shows the appetite for flexible working exists in Europe, but for a combination of reasons - a lack of technology, corporate policy or a general understanding about flexible working - it seems businesses are not maximising the potential flexible working can offer.?
IDC?s Western European Mobile Working Forecast and Analysis report, 2002 - 2007, predicts that the number of European mobile workers will grow from 80.6 million in 2002 to 99.3 million in 2007.
The highest proportion of people within the overall mobile working segment being office-based workers, who embrace technologies to help them work on the road and increase their productivity.
Beyond remote working, the survey also looks at some general communications trends in Europe and finds the following highlights:
? The average European worker spends nearly a third of their working life on the phone. Based on an average seven-hour working day, this amounts to 851 hours on the phone each year.
? Despite this huge amount of time spent on the phone, approximately half of European workers use the phone less than they did five years ago. And 89% use email more, even though they do not necessarily think this is a positive change.
? When in the office, the French and Italians are least likely to use the phone for business compared to the British and Germans.
? Approximately a third of Europeans make frequent calls abroad for business.
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