A colleague handed me a copy of Management Today recently, pointing out a Masterclass feature on remote working. The author recognises the rise of remote working in a time when cost cutting enthusiasts can see big savings through fewer desks, less equipment and less office space, suggesting that we will see a surge in more remote based employees. However the last comment that it ‘may do more harm than good’ as employees become isolated and businesses lose their ‘esprit de corps’ rather dampens my original enthusiasm for this article.
Remote working should not be seen as a ‘fad’ but as the 21st century way of doing business, for those jobs which are able to be conducted wherever a broadband or wifi connection is available. There seems to be an assumption that there are only two ways of working, office based or home based. I beg to differ, flexible working should be the norm, allowing employees and employers alike the choice on a day by day basis where work should be performed, be it 2 days in the office and 3 at home, or 1 day at a remote, satellite office and the rest of the week elsewhere.
Making it easy, and accesible for business to get done in a time and cost effective manner is the key here, not simply just a way of saving a few pounds in the short term!
Tags: broadband, business, flexible working, home working, remote working
