Friday 22 August 08 - 04:00
 
Staff and employers alike are being asked to consider a weeklong trial of smarter working practices, such as home, flexible, mobile and remote working, and so understand for themselves the benefits and practicalities of this modern day approach to working.

“The age of working 9 to 5, five days a week, from a central location, is for many fast coming to an end,” said Phil Flaxton, chief executive of Work Wise UK. “This rigid work structure, which is largely dictated by culture and nothing else, is wasteful in terms of time and resources, damaging to the environment, and harmful in that it impacts upon stress levels and the health of employees.”

Many smarter working practices are very simple to implement, and it is these that organisations are being encouraged to try during Work Wise Week.

For example: Allowing staff to come in either an hour later or an hour earlier, with a reciprocal hour shift at the end of the day. This would enable staff to avoid the busiest travel times, effectively staggering the rush hour and making the journey far more tolerable for everyone.

Other examples include: Allowing staff (who usually have a one hour lunch break) to take a half hour lunch break each day, and then let them leave at 3.00pm on the last day.

www.workwiseuk.org

Stevens Rowsell is a specialist precision sheet metal engineering company in East Sussex