Objectives

Work Wise UK is a not-for-profit initiative, which aims to make the UK one of the most progressive economies in the world by encouraging the widespread adoption of smarter working practices.

An increasingly complex world means that employers and employees have to strive to use their resources effectively; one to gain better productivity, the other 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. Organised by the IT Forum Foundation, the initiative unites UK society, including the public and private sectors, professional bodies and trade unions and supports the broader use of smarter working as a modern day approach to working life.

Although the actual proportion of the UK workforce which currently makes use of smarter working practices is not clear, 'home workers' - defined as 'people who work mainly in their own home, or in different places using home as a base', is known to be 3.1 million out of 28.76 million, or 11 per cent of the total workforce (source: National Statistics, Labour Market Trends Oct 2005).  Work Wise UK believes that this can be extended to 50 per cent of the workforce within five years.

Smarter working can take a number of forms, some very simple, with few cost implications, through to full organisation-wide workflow reviews. It can apply to any business or organisation, from large multinational companies and the public sector right down to small business and the self-employed.

• Allowing flexible working hours
  The small step of enabling staff to come in or leave at different times, if adopted by enough companies, would 'stagger' the rush hour spreading it out and making it less intense, reducing road congestion and overcrowding on public transport, reducing travel time and making it a less stressful part of the day for everyone.
  
• Allowing flexible working location
  Encouraging staff to work from more convenient locations such as from home or whilst on the move could significantly enhance productivity, reduce traveling time and improve quality of life.  Even providing access to satellite offices, hot desks or other facilities more strategically located could reduce traveling distance and time further.

Technology has an important role to play in facilitating smarter working practices. Although the latest advances in mobile technology and the continuing widespread growth in the adoption of broadband is enabling these practices to be implemented, smarter working is not just about technology: it is also about changing culture, changing the way people work and giving them the skills to work smarter.

Flexible working ranges from 'flexitime' where an employee can choose how weekly or annual hours are worked (also called 'self-rostering'), through 'flexihours' where an employee is allowed to come in and leave earlier or later, to 'flexiworking' which enables an employee to work overtime and then take that time off in lieu. Another approach to this is 'condensed hours' where an employee works the week's hours in just four days, taking the fifth day off.

There are many different variations of the above which accommodate the particular requirements of the employee and employer, such as 'shift working', 'staggered hours' and 'term-time working'.

Many employers view home working as an excuse to do less work but it is actually a far more productive and efficient approach for many employees. If implemented properly, it requires a mindset shift from attendance to delivery: results based upon what an employee actually delivers for customers, not the hours of work.

The advances in technology and wide availability of broadband means that many people can now very effectively work from home. By doing so, employees remove the need to travel, in itself a great saving in time, making them more productive, less stressed and happier, especially if they have family commitments.

Home working is proving increasingly popular, with Friday fast becoming the most popular day to work from home. This is beginning to have noticeable effects upon congestion and public transport, especially in major towns and cities. Even choosing to work from home one day a week can have a significant impact on work-life balance and productivity.

Another approach to reducing travel distances and time is remote working. This is where an employee works on the move, reducing the need to come into the office. This could be working from satellite offices or other 'hot desking' solutions, working from business centres or internet cafes, or even working from the car (whilst stationary!) with the latest mobile communications technology.