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Survey reveals most work longer hours but have better quality of life
Why BT encourages its employees to work from home
Teleworking increases productivity, reduces absenteeism and improves quality of life, but also increases working hours, a survey of almost 2,000 staff registered with Workabout, BT's official teleworking scheme, has revealed.
BT, one of Europe's leading telecommunication companies and one of the largest employers of "flexible workers" in Britain, has around 108,000 employees. It began implementing telework schemes in 1990 and now has more than 5,000 Workabout staff. This voluntary scheme, administered by BT's property section, provides equipment and other support to teleworkers who give up permanent BT office space to move to a home-based, mobile working pattern.
BT encourages teleworking because of the company's desire to:
* cut expenditure on office accommodation and increase worker productivity;
* improve employees' attendance, morale, recruitment and retention by giving them more control over the location and timing of work;
* encourage more efficient working by employees; and
* demonstrate that teleworking can work so that other organizations will be encouraged to adopt it.
BT also believes that teleworking can create environmental and social benefits, such as reduced travel and a better work-life balance for employees.
The paradox of longer working hours and better quality of life
The survey, carried out by the University of Bradford, UK, and the non-profit Centre for Economic and Environmental Development, shows that most of the employees believe that teleworking is giving them a better life:
* 85 percent feel that their quality of life is good or very good;
* 82 percent feel that teleworking is important or very important to their quality of life; * 73 percent feel that their work-life balance is good or very good; and
* 90 percent are satisfied or very satisfied with teleworking.
However, some 69 percent of respondents state that their working hours have increase because of teleworking. Around 45 percent of respondents report an increase or more than nine hours a week, and some report working more than 15 hours extra each week.
How can the paradox of higher quality of life but increased working hours be explained? Part of the answer may lie in the profile of the respondents. They are mainly...