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Home Office - Establishment and Consumables

Business experts are suggesting that the era of the 24-hour office is just around the corner thanks to the widespread take-up of technology in the UK workplace.

The Tomorrow’s Work Forum of business groups, convened by Microsoft and including representatives from the Trades Union Congress, the London School of Economics, the Chartered Management Institute and the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development, suggests that the line between work and personal life will become increasingly hazy thanks to the increased emphasis on services in the UK economy.
However, this need not be bad news as the forum believe that this shift will give workers more say and flexibility in their working life.

“Growing numbers of jobs are now based on creating and sharing information,” said David Gartenberg, HR Director of Microsoft UK. ‘They are the kind of jobs that let people be flexible about when and where they work. More sophisticated technology enhances this flexibility and gives us the opportunity to break away from the office based nine-to-five routine.’

However, for this flexibility to work successfully, good management is required, according to Petra Cook, Head of Public Affairs at the Chartered Management Institute.

“We lack a culture in Britain that celebrates professional management“ she explains. “We have an opportunity to create a much more adaptable working culture, but it needs clear codes and ethics to work. Managers need to take responsibility for shaping culture and putting rules and parameters in place.”

”Britain was very good at managing the industrial society,” says Dr Carsten Sorensen of the London School of Economics. “But the strengths of industrial management are a hindrance to a strong management culture in an information economy that’s driven by technology. Our productivity now depends on the networks we form with other people to get jobs done.”

“Work life is changing rapidly and technology is a major catalyst for that change,” concluded Gartenberg. “It’s clear that the lines between work and personal life are blurring. This can create a great opportunity for employees to improve their lifestyles and for employers to improve the quality of their output, but it’s crucial that the change is managed responsibly.”

Employers still need to do far more before everyone at work can achieve work/life balance. 

Those employers who have been forward-thing enough to embrace flexible working are more likely to recruit and retain high quality staff and are less likely to suffer from high levels of staff absence.

Currently, there are 5.4 million employees in the UK who work through some kind of flexible working agreement, of which 2.2 million are men and 3.2 million are women Of these totals, 3.3 million work from home in some form. The number of people working full-time from home in Britain has more than doubled in eight years to almost 2.5 million.

Want to work from home, but don’t have the space and can’t get planning permission anyway?

Consider a custom-designed garden office, purpose-fitted to support your business and the surroundings. Find out how you can create the ‘ideal workspace’ regardless of the nature of your business, from a peaceful retreat to a proactive call centre…

It is a simple way to provide a segregated working space; so important for the well being of home-based remote workers and family harmony.

With the advent of wireless technology, it’s a simple matter to access broadband, telephony and security services. 

Of course you’d need to ensure unencumbered access, which may mean that your garden would require modifications.

From foundation to finished and ready for work would take less than a week and more often than not planning permission isn’t an issue.

Following a test case, and reported in the Tax Guide, where working from home repurposes furniture and equipment normally found in that home, there is no breach of residential use and community charge business rates are not due. However, structural alterations, hiring staff, using specialist equipment and customers visiting your home-business could justify a charge for business rates.

There is a range of designs for all sorts of purposes, the choice is yours.

Contact your local Accredited Partner for more details.

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