Sorry Sir, The Dog Ate My Home Worker!
22 December 2009
Having just spent 2 hours to travel 4 miles (and I did well) I can only sympathise with all of the other drivers out there who are 10, 20, 30 or even 100 miles from home and struggling to make it back on our congested road network after (let’s be honest) 1 or 2 average snowfalls.
Having subjected myself to the country’s grumpiest, most downbeat weather and traffic commentators on the radio, and off the back of the theme (and that’s all it is) of Copenhagen, the need for coherent, functioning and practical home-working arrangements becomes clearer than ever.
There are obviously jobs where it is not appropriate. There are many where it is not practical, but there are thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, where it is an obvious choice if not on a regular basis as a backstop for business continuity.
As I sat in the sea of brake lights, I thought to myself, surely some of these people have done what they needed to do today from home? I unfortunately couldn’t because my job today involved people in person, paper and most importantly payroll, and I’m not messing around with that! Staring at the fumes from the queue of red lights in and around me my mind turned to matters green. That’s it, fivers, and thousands of them. Overtime, travelling time, lost time, wasted fuel etc... The lost time with family in the run-up to Christmas isn’t ideal either. I’m lucky; I have some days where I can fulfil all necessary tasks from the relative comfort of my house, or even someone else’s house if it comes to it. All I need is broadband and my ICT is at my disposal, courtesy of the tools we implement for organisations around the UK.
If I could sum up home working in one sentence it would be akin to the call to prospective teachers.
Those that can should!
Head of Finance
Matthew Skelton
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