There’s been plenty written about working from home being the new fad, and many employees are demanding that option when they start. However, how many people working in SMBs actually take up the offer?
Latest technology advances have seen plenty of employees and business owners everywhere adopt gadgets that make accessing emails and files on the go as easy as accessing a quick WiFi connection.
But how many Australians either owning or working for SMBs actually use these technologies to work from home?
Patrick Pichette, Google’s CFO who’s in Sydney this week, said, according to the Sydney Morning Herald, “The surprising question we get is: ‘How many people telecommute at Google?’ And our answer is: ‘As few as possible’.
“It’s somewhat counterintuitive. People think, ‘Well, because you’re at Google you can work from anywhere.’ Yes, you can work from anywhere, but many just commute to offices. Working from the office is really important.”
It was an interesting comment from someone whose organisation we’d assume would be encouraging teleworking, due to the vast array of products the organisation offers which can assist with that.
Seamus King, country director for Citrix online services division, a company whose products are all designed to make working remotely easier, says that this comment isn’t surprising as every workplace needs a different dynamic. “Citrix appreciates that no two companies are the same; depending on the type of work and business operation, business culture and employee preferences, having a creative workspace for teams to gather in an office setting may be crucial – as well as providing the tools for them to work anywhere on any device. Today’s technology opens the doors to possibilities for more flexibility to architect the most productive working environment for business. Interestingly, research we have conducted has found that it is indeed important for a majority of Australian businesses.”
Citrix’s research has revealed that Australia is quickly adapting to a mobile workforce. “The ‘Workshifting: a global market report‘ has found that Australia is leading the way in becoming a nation of flexible workers, redefining what is meant by an office environment. The truth is that not all organisations have the correct infrastructure or toolsets to make teleworking work for them, however this is constantly changing based on the solutions now on the market. We believe it’s crucial to enable complete mobile workstyles to allow your staff to be able to work wherever they choose, and the boom in the number of devices available to do this is only driving the adoption of collaboration technology moving forward.”
In fact, the company’s research has revealed that more Australian workers will be working remotely than ever before, leading to cost savings for businesses. “This research has found that by the end of this year, 93 percent of organisations will offer a flexible work policy, with over a third of Australians no longer working in a traditional office by 2020. This will be underlined by organisations looking to optimise their premises by reducing office space by almost a fifth.
“The same report by Citrix has further indicated that employees do actually benefit from teleworking and working from home with an increase in personal productivity (70 percent), less commuting time (61 percent), more flexibility (59 percent), and a better work-life balance (49 percent).”
Do you or your staff work from home?
