Working from Home.

 

Congratulations to Minister for Broadband and Communications, Stephen Conroy for recently spruiking the idea of more Australians working from home.

 Monday to Friday millions of us file like so many ants from our suburban homes into the concrete jungle of the CBD, almost every car on the road containing one lonely individual accompanied only by the inane dribbling’s of the breakfast radio presenters.

As scooter riders, my wife and I like to think that we are making a small contribution to reducing our impact on the planet; imagine if 10,000 Brisbanites were no longer compelled to drive to the CBD for even 1 day of the working week, surely that would be a good thing.

As with every change there are winners and losers, the losers in this scenario would be the coffee shops and lunch bars, petrol companies and transport companies amongst others. The winners would be the environment and the people who get to work from home, and of course people in the communications industry.

Technology today makes working from home a breeze, internet, the cloud, video conferencing from desktops or mobile devices and telephone conferencing all available at the drop of a hat to make sure that there is no lack of communication. There is no reason to expect a drop in productivity when working from home but it will require a massive change in mindset from company managers who still have a “bums on seats” mentality.

There are of course things to be aware of, such as OH & S measures and insurance liabilities, the employer still has a duty to provide a safe working environment even when the place of work is at home, is the cost of this going to deter employers or is it just another cost of doing business. Employees also have a responsibility to make sure that the environment they are working in at home is appropriate.

On the whole a great idea with many benefits to workers, employers and the environment and don’t forget if you are working from home and need to have a telephone conference…………….call Chorus Call Australia.