Memorandum submitted by Orange
IMPROVED WORK-LIFE BALANCE: THE ROLE OF ICT
1. INTRODUCTION
The world of work is changing: new technology,
new global pressures, more women working, fewer young people and
an expansion of the older generation.
— Almost 19% of employees work
in workplaces operating 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
— One in eight employees work
both Saturday and Sunday.
— Almost 11% of employees work
60 or more hours a week. typically in professional and managerial
jobs.
— More than one in eight men with
dependent children works 60 hours or more a week.
— 56% of women preferred greater
flexibility in their working arrangements to longer maternity
leave on their return to work following maternity leave.[31]
The UK Government and Opposition parties, government
agencies, think tanks and many parliamentarians all talk about
their support for improving the work-life balance.
— The Department of Trade and
Industry (DTI) has legislated to improve work-life balance, through
the Work and Families Act 2006 and other earlier legislative developments
to improve rights at work.
— HM Treasury has used tax, tax
credits, grants and other financial measures, such as support
for childcare, to assist employees to improve their work-life
balance.
— The Women and Equalities Unit,
now part of the Department for Local Government and Communities,
has particularly focused on work-life balance and flexible working
for women in the workplace. This is now being taken forward in
proposals in response to the Commission for Women.
— The Conservative Party, in its
Aims and Values paper, Built to Last, aspires to enable
people to strike a better balance between work and life through
flexible working as part of its overall aim to enhance the environment
and increase general well-being. Orange welcomes these various
initiatives. However, in doing so, we argue that Information Communications
Technology (ICT), such as mobile technology and broadband, is
one of the most significant drivers for improved work-life balance.
We're not saying it.s the solution to all our problems. Technology
can only achieve so much and it is important for people to "switch
off". And we are not advocating "technology for technology's
sake". Nevertheless, in many cases, the role and impact of
ICT is over-looked and often taken for granted. To this extent,
this paper seeks to raise awareness of ICT in improving work-life
balance, and urges the Government (and others) to place it at
the core of its strategies.
2. HOW CAN
ICT HELP?
Flexibility has gradually improved over the
last 10 years. A recent survey shows that employers taking part
in flexible hours schemes have increased from 17% to 22%.[32]
According to the Work Foundation, 60% of employees now say their
employer supports flexible working. [33]One
of the big enablers is mobile computing and high speed communications.
Technology unleashes new possibilities for organising work in
ways that are more aligned with other priorities, from family
life to civic duty. According to The Mobile Life Report 2006,
61% of employees who use a mobile device of some sort say that
their quality of life has improved as a result. [34]However,
the adoption of a technology strategy amongst UK companies to
foster more flexible working conditions remains low. 41% of organisations
provide their commuting office workers with no form of mobile
device whatsoever. [35]
As a mobile communications business, Orange
has helped to change the way people communicate and do business.
For anyone who spends any time away from the workplace, being
without a mobile handset is unimaginable. Mobile communications
technology has made working "out of the office" or "homing"
(working at home) common place. The average Blackberry user converts
54 minutes of downtime into productive time each day. [36]
— Mobile handsets, smart phones
and Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), such as the Blackberry,
allow us to talk, text, access location-specific information and
access office facilities, such as e-mail, contacts, diary appointments
and the corporate network, all whilst on the move and at a time
and place convenient to the user.
Coventry University Enterprises: Flexible Working
Coventry University Enterprises Ltd (CUE Ltd),
the commercial trading arm of Coventry University, provides a
range of business and IT services to companies across the UK and
Europe. In 2002 CUE Ltd introduced an initiative called "Location-Independent
Working" (LIW) to trial employee flexible working. The initiative,
which has received a DTI E-Commerce award, has led to the development
of a formal written flexible working policy that covers areas
such as hours of work, health and safety, insurance, travel arrangements,
data security, training and equipment. Employees are encouraged
to work "out of the office" between 40-60% of the time.
Orange's mobile technology plays an important part in enabling
this flexibility in creating an easy to use mobile working environment.
Since the initiative began 100% the participants have chosen to
work flexibly. Flexible workers are equipped with the appropriate
technology to do their jobs, including smart phones, laptops,
PDAs, tablet PCs and thin client computers.
— Fast Internet access via a broadband
connection in the home (72.6% of UK Internet connections are now
broadband) [37]allow
more people to access the office server from the comfort of their
living room offering the freedom to work from home unrestricted.
Faster connections enable us to access more advanced and beneficial
services, such as video conferencing and training facilities.
Redbrick Enterprises Ltd: Boosting Productivity
at Home
Redbrick Enterprises Ltd is a consultancy business
run from a homely head office in Shrewsbury, Shropshire. The company
has five home-based employees who utilise broadband connections
to service clients across the UK. The employees communicate using
instant messaging tools and keep in touch with client projects
through online project management tool, Basecamp. Founder, Emma
Jones, and her team have reaped the rewards of being home-based
by saving up to one day per week through cutting out the daily
commute and the increased productivity that comes with working
at home. Time saved is spent with family & friends or, as
Emma prefers, doing more work! Having recognised a dramatic increase
in the number of businesses being started from a home base (around
75% of new start-ups are based at home) Redbrick has launched
a website at www.enterprisenation.com that offers information
and inspiration to home workers across the UK.
— And the Internet is now mobile.
Faster Internet speeds over Third Generation (3G) mobile networks
mean we can have quick access even when we.re not in a certain
place, such as at a desk or at home. 3G "data cards"
slotted into a laptop can give the user all the power of the fixed
Internet at his or her fingertips when on the move. And wireless
broadband connections are now available at an airport or on a
train enabling us to work as effectively "out of the office"
as when we're behind a desk. Many 3G data cards can connect to
3G mobile networks, nearby wireless networks or 2G mobile networks
to enable a seamless Internet connection.
BDO Stoy Hayward: Greater Freedom to Work and
Play
Part of the world's fifth largest accountancy
network, BDO Stoy Hayward is investing £2 million to mobilise
its workforce, improve its business performance as well as employees.
work-life balance. The commitment is in response to its latest
annual employee survey, which showed that the majority of its
employees want to adopt more mobile working practices. Using Orange's
high speed Third Generation (3G) network, 2500 employees can now
access e-mail and the corporate network via laptop using a 3G
data card or mobile device when off-site, traveling between meetings
or working from home. It gives them the flexibility to work their
own way, be more productive and have more time to dedicate to
their private lives. Each employee has—to date—recovered
an extra 40 minutes of working time per month.
It is not just the private sector that is deploying
the use of ICT to improve productivity and enhance employees.
work-life balance. In the public sector, organisations—such
as local authorities—are using ICT to make cost savings,
improve service delivery and enhance the work-life balance of
employees. The Government recognises the benefits of ICT in public
service delivery but a shift in thinking, driven by a central
strategy as well a change in private sector practices, is needed
to boost work-life balance benefits in the public sector.
East Sussex County Council: Management by Output
One of the largest local authorities in the UK
with an annual budget of £489 million and 15,000 employees,
East Sussex is using a mobile working solution to provide staff
with the opportunity to work flexibly and manage their work-life
balance. Using PDAs and smart phones with the Orange network,
the Council has adopted a shift in culture towards "management
by output". It has also introduced significant efficiency
benefits allowing the Council to deliver local services more effectively.
But this is just the beginning. In the next
few years, the way we work and communicate with each other will
continue to change, opening up more options for employees, greater
opportunities for flexible working and posing greater challenges
for our employers. And this is reflected in many of the service
providers, including Orange, now offering a wide range of communications
services (often known as "triple play" or "quad
play"), such as broadband, fixed telephony, "on demand"
broadband TV and mobile communications. In the next few years:
— The take-up of broadband connectivity
in the home will continue to grow and with it will come faster
speeds enabling richer and enhanced services, such as interactive
"on demand" television to complement existing digital
TV, as well as improving the quality of video conferencing and
other office facilities. In terms of penetration levels, the UK
will challenge the likes of Canada and Japan as global leader
as competitive pricing stimulates demand.
— The distinction between the
various mediums we know so well—the television set, the
radio, the Internet and the telephone/mobile—will continue
to blur, both in the home and when on the move. Witness the already
popular trend to make voice calls over the Internet (also known
as "VoIP"), receive broadcast/streamed television on
a mobile handset or listen to the radio via various digital television
platforms.
— Advances in mobile communications
technology (known as "3G+" or High Speed Downlink Packet
Download Access (HSDPA)) will increase the speed of Internet access
on the move, rivaling most existing fixed networks. This will
greatly improve the quality of information that can be accessed
whilst out and about and make working "out of the office"
even more productive enabling greater work loads to be managed
whilst on the move.
3. WHAT ACTION
SHOULD GOVERNMENT
TAKE?
Advances in ICT will drive these changes and
Orange believes this should to be recognised by the Government
and others. We make several recommendations as to what action
the Government should take to maximise the opportunities and to
meet the challenges of improved work-life balance.
(i) The Government should introduce a White
Paper on Work-Life Balance. This should pull together initiatives
across government and look to future policy. It should consider
how improved work-life balance and flexible working will contribute
to achieving key public policy objectives: supporting families,
tackling poverty and exclusion, reducing congestion and enhancing
the environment, and creating a productive knowledge economy.
It should also set out future solutions, including how government
will support the use and development of ICT strategies for improved
work-life balance. The former Cabinet Minister, Rt. Hon Alan Milburn
MP, first called for such a White Paper in 2004.
(ii) The Government should embrace a new
concept of work-life balance which recognises the benefits of
ICT. In particular, we urge the Government to place ICT at the
heart of its response to the Leitch Review of Skills.
(iii) The Government should help promote
a realistic work-life culture amongst employers by introducing
a technology-based tax credit. This would be particularly designed
to help small businesses to enjoy the multitude of benefits that
flexible and mobile working can deliver.
(iv) In support of this we advocate the introduction
of a Skills Portfolio to help capture some of the learning, skills
and aptitudes that are not reflected in traditional qualifications.
This would include a "flexible working" skill set. This
was recommended by think tank, Demos, in a report examining the
relationship between young people and organisations. [38]
(v) There should be greater recognition by
HM Treasury, Department of Trade and Industry and Department for
Work and Pensions of the role of ICT in supporting work-life balance.
In particular, in implementing the Work and Families Act 2006
and other forthcoming initiatives. This should be linked to financial
incentives and support for employers in the public and private
sector to invest and utilise ICT to support flexible working.
(vi) The Government should give further consideration
to the role of ICT in responding to the recommendations of the
Women and Work Commission. The recently published .Action Plan.
should be integrated with strategies to support and promote the
use of ICT, which will be critical to the success of proposals
to improve flexible working arrangements for women.
(vii) In its Comprehensive Spending Review
2007, the Government should set out proposals of how ICT strategies
will be used to deliver improved work-life balance for public
sector organisations and employees to improve efficiency and services.
31 The Second Work-Life Balance, DTI 2003. Back
32
Working in Britain Survey, LSE/PSI Survey 2002. Back
33
About Time for Change, Work Foundation June 2003. Back
34
The Mobile Life Report 2006: How mobile phones change the way
we live www.mobilelife2006.co.uk Back
35
Henley Centre HeadlightVision research conducted for Orange. Back
36
Ipsos research 2003. Back
37
Office of National Statistics June 2006-this figure does not include
mobile Internet connections. Back
38
Working Progress: How to reconnect young people and organizations
(June 2006)-Demos (funded by Orange). Back
|
