The increased development in technology in recent years has resulted in employees being able to work anywhere and anytime – from home, the airport, on holiday and so on. More and more people work from home permanently and some work from home on set days per week allowing their work and home life to co-exist.
I came across an article recently in Grapevine magazine discussing this issue and it revealed that one in five workers are in fact not allowed to do so. This got me thinking about whether or not this should be the case –should companies be offering this to all and is it a good idea?
The article explains that research by the Trade Union Congress (TUC) found that 4.5 million workers wish to work from home on some days a week but are not given the option to do so. We all know that some work simply could not be done from home, but for those jobs that can be there appears to be great benefits.
The TUC argue that allowing employees to work from home will result in “Better staff recruitment and retention; improved motivation and productivity; improving the quality and reputation of the service; reduction of sickness absence and travel costs; and infrastructure cost savings”.
So is this true? We don’t believe that all companies should suddenly allow their team to work from home on a permanent basis – interaction with your co-workers is key. However we do relate to what the TUC are saying and believe that a large part of the issue surrounding working from home is trust.
