UK workers urged to avoid office for the day

And silicon.com plans to join the fun...

By Tim Ferguson, 14 May 2008 12:42

NEWS

National Work from Home day is here again this Thursday 15 May and silicon.com is aiming to repeat the success of last year's great working from home experiment.

The silicon.com editorial team will be banned from the office for the day to see exactly how well we can run things without setting foot in the office.

Green IT from A-Z

Click here for all there is on Green IT, from Freecycle to virtualisation.

This is the third time the initiative has been run by smarter working group Work Wise UK and kicks off Work Wise Week 2008.

Work Wise expects millions of workers to sample the benefits of working from home, such as avoiding crowded public transport, saving time and reducing stress.

Phil Flaxton, chief executive of Work Wise UK, said: "The benefits of working from home, even occasionally, are now widely accepted. Not only does it reduce the amount of commuting people have to do, enhancing their work/life balance, but many are actually more productive."

Nearly 3.5 million people already work from home in the UK - an increase of 600,000 since 1997. The highest proportion of home workers is in the South West with 15.7 per cent, followed by Eastern England with 14.4 per cent. The lowest is in the North East with 9.3 per cent, followed by Scotland with 9.4 per cent.

Last year silicon.com's editorial staff stayed away from the office, keeping in touch by mobile, instant messenger and email.

There were mixed results and several challenges along the way, so look out for our coverage to see whether these problems have been ironed out and how the team gets along this time.

Comments

There is 1 comment. Join the discussion

  1. 1. Simon

    As I sit here at my desk, eating my sandwich ...

    "Hmm, looks interesting, when is it ?"
    "Thursday 15th"
    "Hang on, that's today !"

    It would have been nice to have enough advance warning to have a stab at it. Even though the article was posted yesterday (which still doesn't leave enough time to arrange things), it wasn't in the email until today.

Post your comment

In order to post a comment you need to be registered and logged in.

Log in or create your silicon.com account below

Will not be displayed with your comment

By signing up for this service, you indicate that you agree to our Terms and Conditions and have read and understood our Privacy Policy.

Questions about membership? Find the answers in the Membership FAQ