There’s no place like home – or work
Article Date: Jun 04 2009
Flexible working, Home working
Home and work are no longer separate entities, as a study finds that more people are opting for flexible working.
According to a poll carried out by printing company Lexmark, one in three employees work from home on a regular basis, with 25 per cent expecting this figure to increase.
Paul Callow, UK & Ireland marketing director at Lexmark, says: ‘Whether this is an attempt to reduce travel costs, or is a company initiative to save on office expenses, an increasing number of the work force is becoming more flexible in its working practises.
‘If management is concerned about the distractions of home working, they should provide guidelines for home workers to ensure productivity rates remain high. Employees should also be offered advice on how to reduce the costs of running their own home office,’ he adds.
The study also found that people are most productive in the morning, with activity levels peaking around 11 am and dropping significantly in the afternoon. Of the 278, 20 per cent of respondents said they liked to work in the evening.
In April the rights of employees to request flexible working was extended to parents with children up to the age of 16, making approximately 4.5 million more people eligible.
