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Workers in the East of England could save over £500 a year by working from home for one day a week according to new research commissioned for national Commute Smart week – (27th October – 31st October 2008).

The research, commissioned as part of the East of England Development Agency’s takeITon business IT campaign, found that on average, workers in the region spend 47 minutes commuting each day. By working at home for just one day a week, they could save over £500 in a year in travel costs as well as making huge time savings. 

The research also revealed that 82 per cent of workers in the region would like to work more flexibly, yet only 21 per cent of workers were actively encouraged by their employers to work from home.

Jan Pinkerton, Head of Business ICT and Intelligence at EEDA said:

“EEDA’s takeITon campaign is supporting Commute Smart week by encouraging businesses to consider ways in which their employees can work more flexibly. Flexible working can have many benefits for both employees and employers. In some cases employees have claimed it makes them more loyal to their firm, and the personal benefits often encourage increased productivity. Also, by avoiding a commute into the office, employers can implement significant cost savings and time savings.”

To help businesses adopt more flexible working methods, and reap the rewards that follow, EEDA’s takeITon campaign have published a series of ‘top tips’:

takeITon: top-tips for working at home:

Step 1 – Setting up a Home Office
Assess your home environment for its suitability as a working environment. Put in place the necessary safe and secure IT infrastructure in support of your home business
Step 2 – Collaborating with other home workers
Plan how you will be working with co-workers, suppliers and customers. Agree on a standard technology that you will be using to share data
Step 3 – Online discussions
Consider how instant messaging could help in your communications. Investigate instant messaging suppliers and download appropriate software
Step 4 – Online sharing of documents.
Understand your document sharing needs Research the various suppliers of collaboration software. Install and configure appropriate sharing technology

The recently-launched takeITon Business IT Guide also explains some of the benefits behind home working for employers and employees, which include:

• Flexibility – particularly for workers unable to work conventional hours
• Increased productivity
• Reduced costs and time for travelling
• A better work / life balance