Title: 'Let staff work from home: employers told' by Norman Baker (Telegraph, 10/7/10) Post by: Chris from Nailsea on July 11, 2010, 00:55:29 From the Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/road-and-rail-transport/7881766/Let-staff-work-from-home-employers-told.html):
Quote Employers are to be urged by Norman Baker, a transport minister, to allow staff to work one day a fortnight from home as part of the Government^s drive to cut transport congestion. Incentives could be introduced to encourage flexible working and train companies will encouraged to overhaul how season tickets are sold, so people who only spend part of the week at an office are not penalised. Norman Baker, the Liberal Democrats^ transport minister, believes traditional travel patterns have to change if the Coalition is to create the low-carbon economy it promised and has instructed officials to work out how his ideas can be brought into practice. He also plans to discuss his initiative with Treasury and other ministers as well as meeting business leaders. ^Part of my brief as a transport minister is to sometimes encourage you not to travel. I want to be the first virtual transport minister,^ he told the Daily Telegraph. ^This isn^t just pie in the sky; it could really work with just a little bit of flexibility." Mr Baker^s initiative could ease pressure on Britain^s overstretched transport network which is bracing itself for sweeping spending cuts in the Autumn. ^The kind of initiatives I^m working on will do away with the rush hour. Reducing demand will reduce congestion, pollution and stress in our daily lives. Working just 1 day in 10 from home would have a huge impact,^ Mr Baker said. ^For example, homeworking could do wonders for that work life balance we all strive for. So you drop the children off at school, work in the office 9.30 until 2, go and pick them up, then work a couple more hours from home. And why do we all choose to hit the road or rail at the same time every morning. Twenty-first century transport choices should fit a twenty-first century world where we shouldn^t just use smart cards to travel, we should be smarter about when we travel and when we use office technology for virtual travel instead. ^The results will be tangible ^ reduced congestion, reduced carbon emissions, improved quality of life and if we^re all working from home we might even start talking to our neighbours again, now that can^t be a bad thing for our communities.^ Mr Baker also wants rail companies to sell cornets as well as season tickets. This would enable people to pay for their journeys in batches while enjoying the discount offered to season ticket holders. Mr Baker also wants the DfT and the rest of Whitehall to set an example with officials and ministers using video conference to cut back on their own travel. According to a Parliamentary written answer the Department of Work and Pensions has spent ^115 million over the last decade on management conferences and external meetings. The Department of Communities and Local Government spent ^8.8 million over the last four years. Since taking office Mr Baker has already delivered two speeches remotely, by recording a DVD which was played at a conferences. Mr Baker^s initiative was welcomed by Matthew Farrow, CBI Head of Infrastructure. ^We agree there needs to be big changes to the way we work and commute to cut future congestion, particularly on our roads,^ he said. ^Although it^s not feasible in all workplaces, employers are increasingly enabling staff to stagger their commutes and break out of the usual ^nine to five^ It was also welcomed by Stephen Joseph, executive director of the Campaign for Better Transport. ^I think this is a huge step forward. A lot of the debate seems to be taking place as if the internet was never invented.^ But his plea for people business executives to travel less alarmed the Association of Train Operating Companies. ^Around 250m journeys are made by business travellers every year. Rail is an increasingly popular way for businesspeople to get around, with bookings through corporate travel agents rising by 13% last year alone,^ a spokesman said. ^The train is a good option for businesspeople getting around the country because in many cases they can catch up on work and use their time travelling almost as productively as they could do in the office.^ * * * Quote Mr Baker also wants rail companies to sell cornets as well as season tickets. Indeed - why shouldn't they? ::) Title: Re: 'Let staff work from home: employers told' by Norman Baker (Telegraph, 10/7/10) Post by: JayMac on July 11, 2010, 01:30:45 Ice cream cone - Yes, fine, as long as there's some ice cream in it as well.
Brass instrument - No way, there's enough noise pollution on trains as it is. Title: Re: 'Let staff work from home: employers told' by Norman Baker (Telegraph, 10/7/10) Post by: 6 OF 2 redundant adjunct of unimatrix 01 on July 11, 2010, 08:21:54 i want to work from home! but unless someone has a matter transporter i cant >:(
Title: Re: 'Let staff work from home: employers told' by Norman Baker (Telegraph, 10/7/10) Post by: JayMac on July 11, 2010, 09:21:47 relex, If you've got a flux capacitor or a quantum slipstream drive, I'll swap you my matter transporter.
Title: Re: 'Let staff work from home: employers told' by Norman Baker (Telegraph, 10/7/10) Post by: 6 OF 2 redundant adjunct of unimatrix 01 on July 11, 2010, 18:54:19 both confiscated by section 31 :-(
Title: Re: 'Let staff work from home: employers told' by Norman Baker (Telegraph, 10/7 Post by: Mookiemoo on July 11, 2010, 22:39:18 See I like my job - pays well and can
However The pay off is as follows: I can work 72 hours stright at go live I have no 9-5 = I'm always on the clock its just flexible - I can choose to start work at midday and finish at 10pm but they get used to you being online at 10pm so on days you start at 7 am............ there is no difference Of course other than going into the office I can work in jimjams with music playing But its based on trust and sadly, to put a serious note in, most middle managers do not trust their staff. In my case I'm judges on deliverables - so long as I deliver its ok Title: Re: 'Let staff work from home: employers told' by Norman Baker (Telegraph, 10/7 Post by: Timmer on July 12, 2010, 06:13:06 But its based on trust and sadly, to put a serious note in, most middle managers do not trust their staff. And they would be right not to trust their staff. Just because staff are all in one place in an office doesnt mean they are actually working. I think if some companies looked at how much of the working day is spent surfing the net, doing online shopping, Facebook, online poker etc they would be quite alarmed. It continues to amaze me that companies don't put more safeguards in place to stop staff surfing the net doing personal emails etc. Aparantly Mondays is quite a busy day for online shopping. For the organisation I work for its not Saturday and Sunday that are our busiest days for online sales but Monday and Tuesdays during the working day when people return to work. So when we do enewsletters we send them out during the working week after finding we got more response to them rather than sending them on a Friday evening for the weekend. Going back on topic, there is some proof I believe out there that shows that people work better from home because they want to return the trust shown in them by allowing them to work from home and there are less distractions from other colleagues. Sure it isn't going to work for everyone but it really does need to be looked into by more companies in this modern day and age. Title: Re: 'Let staff work from home: employers told' by Norman Baker (Telegraph, 10/7/10) Post by: JayMac on July 12, 2010, 06:19:50 The vast majority of poeple cannot work from home. For many years I worked in hospitality. Can't have chefs working from home. I currently volunteer with young offenders and I certainly ain't doing any mentoring with them at my home!
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