Flexible working slow to take off

Businesses are not prepared for flexible working agendas

The UK workforce is becoming increasingly mobile, but many businesses are still not well prepared for flexible working, according to separate reports from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Business Software Alliance (BSA).

The DTI’s Workplace Employment Relations Survey revealed that since 1998, the number of employees who regularly work at home or away from the office has increased by 12 per cent to 28 per cent.

Gerry Sutcliffe, employment minister, said: “We have long argued that flexible working opportunities benefit everyone.

“Today’s findings show that these arguments have been embraced in the modern workplace.”

However, 55 per cent of businesses believe remote working makes it increasingly difficult to manage data uploads onto employees’ laptops and mobile devices, according to a BSA survey of 500 UK business managers.

But surprisingly, 67 per cent of the respondents said they were not worried about being unable to effectively manage employee data on remote applications.

Mike Newton, a representative for the BSA, said the rise in remote working has been the result of improved technology.

“Communications barriers are coming down, making it more feasible for businesses to consider remote working,” he said.

Half of the UK workforce will be working flexibly by December, amounting to about 15.4 million people, according to IDC.

Newton said remote working can have huge benefits for businesses. In the survey, 43 per cent said it increased employees’ working hours by reducing travel times.

Newton added: “The smallest businesses should turn to the channel for help with managing their mobile workers and their data, because they don’t have the internal resources to do it themselves.”

Kevin Meadows, an account director at Azzurri Communications, said: “Working away from the office can benefit businesses, provided they have the controls and infrastructure in place to support mobile working.”