More are at home with a flexible way of working
Jan 22 2008 by Sue Scott, Evening Gazette
THE number of North-east people working from home has grown by more than 56% since 1999 and it’s not only proving good for families, but also good for business.
Almost 50,000 workers - nearly 5% of the working population - are now based at, or regularly work from home - roughly matching the UK average. And - however much they might complain about juggling - mums do not make up the biggest number. The average split between the sexes is roughly two-thirds male to one-third female.
Work Wise North East has been calling on local businesses to ditch the nine to five routine since it was launched last February as part of a national initiative to encourage businesses to better balance their organisational needs with those of their employees. It says firms stand to prosper from productivity boosts of 15% to 31% by having staff who are more relaxed about life.
Ross Smith, head of policy and research at the North East Chamber of Commerce (NECC), which is also a Work Wise North East partner, said: “There are real, tangible benefits for businesses, not least the fact that being seen to be a flexible employer is a good recruitment and staff retention tool. This can particularly help parents to return to work, and will be increasingly important as more people have responsibility to care for older relatives as well.”
Flexible-friendly BT - another Work Wise North East partner - enjoys almost a 100% success rate in seeing new mums return from maternity leave compared to a national average of 47%.
According to BT, businesses’ inability to be more open to flexible working is preventing significant numbers of people in the UK from even applying for work, let alone returning to it.
The company claims there are currently 750,000 unemployed lone parents who have an average age of 37 and possess untapped skills which could benefit businesses.
But in many cases, they find it impossible to combine the responsibility of childcare with rigid working hours.
With unemployment across the North-east dropping 2,000 to 73,000, bosses might be forced to consider it a vital recruitment tool in future.
David Jones, branch supervisor for the At Work recruitment agency on Grange Road in Middlesbrough, said: “Employers can benefit from recruiting on a flexible basis if they are looking for someone with a specific skill set.
“If they are looking for someone who has admin experience for example, but the suitable candidate is a single parent who has to work around school hours they could offer the opportunity to job-share instead of working a normal nine to five.
“This would give people a better opportunity to get back to the working environment and help employers recruit someone with the right skills.”
