Why homeworking can benefit businesses

Why homeworking can benefit businesses

Homeworking and flexible working can pay big dividends for smaller firms that take the plunge and give staff the freedom to work when best suits them, according to an entrepreneurship specialist.

Writing in The Daily Telegraph, Rachel Bridge said that using this approach may cause businesses a headache when trying to round people up for meetings, but the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages. Key among them is the ability to attract high quality staff who do not want to work a normal 9am-5pm day in the office.

Richard Powell, from consultancy firm Crimson & Co, said: “We get all their experience and capability in a way that suits us, and they get to do a job that fits in with their life. It is a total win-win.”

Currently, the right to ask to work flexibly is restricted to carers and parents with young children. However, from 30 June, anyone who has been working as a member of staff for six months will be legally permitted to work flexibly. That is likely to lead to a surge in the number of requests from people who want to be homeworkers and those who want to work outside of traditional office hours.

Rather than fearing that staff working from home will not be as productive as those in the office, Ms Bridge said firms should look at the evidence. She suggests that employers judge productivity by output rather than counting the number of hours people are at their desks. Research has shown that who work from home tend to be both more loyal to their employer and more productive when trusted to get on with their work without direct supervision.

And many businesses will also save money. Mobile phone giant Vodafone saved £11.5 million in one year after allowing staff from its Berkshire base work from home.

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