ANEC SIGNS UP TO SMARTER WORKING
The Association of North East Councils (ANEC) has signed up to a groundbreaking scheme to end the nine to five work culture.
The Association has pledged its support to the smarter working initiative, Work Wise North East, which aims to make the North East a cutting-edge location in which to work.
ANEC is backing the flagship campaign as it believes that smarter working practices can ease transport congestion in the region, help the environment, improve productivity amongst the North East work force and help public sector employees achieve a work life balance.
Work Wise North East, launched in February 2007, encourages employers to consider innovative ways to address the traditional nine to five working culture and to adopt smarter working practices such as mobile working, remote working and working from home.
The North East has seen the number of people working from home grow by over 56 per cent since 1999. Almost 50,000 workers - nearly five per cent of the working population - are now based at or regularly work from home. But British workers spend the longest time traveling in Europe - as much as 47 working days per year (Samsung research 2004).
ANEC is firmly committed to encouraging local authorities to adopt flexible working practices such as home working, staggered start and finish times and job sharing, as part of its ongoing commitment to flexible working.
Councillor Mick Henry, Chair of the Association of North East Councils, said: "The Association, as the political voice for local government in the region, is delighted to become a strategic partner with Work Wise North East.
"North East local government is working hard to promote social well-being, including better health, for its citizens and communities. A more flexible approach to working can help this agenda, and the Association will support the Work Wise initiative and promote it to the region's 25 councils.
"For public sector organisations, there are potentially major direct financial and business improvement benefits, including productivity growth, a more collaborative culture, increased diversity and staff retention and satisfaction.
"Some local authorities in the North East have already adopted a range of policies and practices which fall within the terms of the Work Wise initiative, especially the flexi-time schemes and home-working.
"The requirement for local authorities to retain skilled staff and their desire to recruit employees from harder-to-reach communities suggests that there is much to gain from adopting the Work Wise principles."
Simon Roberson, regional chairman of Work Wise North East campaign said: ""We are delighted to have ANEC on board as a strategic partner and we will be working closely with the Association to ensure that the benefits of flexible working are promoted widely across the local authorities"
"Reducing costs and increasing productivity are two of the drivers to introducing new ways of working. Both private and public sector organisations are constantly struggling to find to find the best allocation of scarce resources and the introduction of new information and communication technologies enable organisations to introduce greater flexibility into working practices."
"Even a limited change in working practices and culture will lead to increased business productivity and competitiveness, reduce transport congestion and pollution, improve health, assist disadvantaged groups, and harmonise work and family commitments" he said
"Flexible working and other innovative working practices offer a wide range of opportunities for workers and businesses, as well as for the regional economy as a whole. "We hope that through ANEC, local authorities will see the real benefits of the campaign - the health, wealth and happiness benefits brought about by flexible working are impossible for employers to overlook" said Simon
Work Wise North East aims to consign nine-to-five, five-days-a-week working to history and the promotion of smarter working practices are important steps to creating 21st Century work places that are inclusive to people from all backgrounds and abilities.
The campaign has attracted wide-ranging support from leading organisations in the region. Strategic partners include One NorthEast, Government Office North East, North East Chamber of Commerce, Onyx Group, EEF Northern, Workplace Travel Planning Company, Dickinson Dees, RBLI , TUC and BT.
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Media contact: Sheila Chapman, Sheila Chapman PR on 07732 827 486 email scpr@btopenworld.com
Notes to editors:
Further information about Work Wise UK can be found on the website www.workwiseuk.org.
Work Wise UK is organised by the IT Forum Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation.