About Work Wise UK
Work Wise UK is a non political, not-for-profit initiative, which aims to make
the UK one of the most progressive economies in the world by encouraging Smarter
Working practices to the benefit of business, employees and the country as a
whole.
An increasingly complex world means that employers and employees have to strive
to use their resources effectively. Employers wish to gain better productivity
and employees wish to balance work-life pressures. Work Wise UK provides a
central information service for the UK workforce and champions the dissemination
of key information and best practice throughout the programme.
The initiative brings together UK society, including the public and private sectors, professional
bodies and trade unions to support the broader use of Smarter Working as a modern day
approach to working life.
Working smarter is about the simple things that employers and employees can identify within
their operation to reduce wasted time, wasted travel and wasted effort.
What is Smarter Working?
Smarter Working can take a number of forms. Some are simple with low initial investment whilst
others can be extensive organisation-wide workflow reviews. Smarter Working can apply to any
business or organisation from large multi-national companies, the public sector, charities
and other 3rd sector employers to small businesses and the self employed.
In the past decade, a whole range of Smarter Working arrangements have become increasingly
widespread. A number of key drivers are responsible for this, but the main ones cited are:
- As a response to meeting recruitment difficulties
- To improve motivation
- To retain experienced staff
- To support equal opportunities
- To improve productivity and reduce Costs
In addition, there has been pressure from employees battling to maintain a satisfactory balance
between their work and other commitments, often referred to as ‘worklife balance’, which has
been supported by the Government via the introduction of legislation and guidance on flexible
working and work-time regulations.