Barely a day goes past without some mention in the news or business journals of flexible working. And this is not surprising given the growth levels in recent years and the benefits that can be achieved – benefits for both employers and employees.

Location independent workers

There are now over 3 million people who work mainly from home, or use home as a base for work. 39% of small businesses are home-based, according to the Federation of Small Businesses. Overlapping with this group of homeworkers are 2.2 million “teleworkers” defined by the Office of National Statistics as people working from home whose work depends on use of a computer or telephone. These people are mainly employees. “Telework” has attracted a lot of interest, growing at 13% per year since 1997.

Who are these people? Initially the majority of these people using information and communication technologies (ICT) to work flexibly were, naturally enough, employed by IT and telecoms companies. Or they were skilled free-lancers working in professions such as computer software. In the mid 1990s the majority were men, too.

Work life balance

But all that has changed. Flexible workers now come from any kind of profession that does not absolutely require permanent presence in one particular place. Sales personnel, social workers, architects, lawyers, data processors, call centre workers, trading standards officers — people from all these professions are now working remotely. At first it was mostly senior managers and professionals. Now staff at all levels and from all sizes of organisation are working from wherever is best to do the job.

Official figures focus on those who work at home — mainly because these are easiest to count! But the home is only one possible work location for flexible workers. They can also work on the move, from client sites, from cafes and hotels — in fact from anywhere if they have access to the right kit and connection.

Considerations for Business

The key issues, however, are how to maximise the full range of advantages to be derived from flexible working and how to ensure effective communications and teamwork.