The largest pilot project of flexible work in the UK has shown that employees working remotely are more productive and also save more money. The project was prepared by the mobile operator O2 that had asked the staff of its headquarters in Slough, west of London, to work from home for one day. On 8th February 2012, only 125 employees whose presence was necessary remained at the headquarters and the remaining 2,500 people worked from home and communicated online.
The project evaluation showed that 80% of participants were at least as productive at home as in the office and 36% were even more productive at home. 16% slept a little longer than usual and 14% spent more time with their families. Employees save 2,000 hours on commuting and half of them used this time to work. Instead of the normal 1,100 cars, just 109 cars were at the company parking lot. Power consumption dropped by 12% and water consumption by 53%. With regard to greenhouse gas emissions, the project saved 12.2 tons of CO2eq. Employees saved almost £ 9,000, mainly due to the savings on commuting.
Ben Dowd, Business Director O2 UK, commented the results of the project: "It shows that given the right preparation and communication, conservative presenteeism-based attitudes to work can be changed, with great benefits for both managers and staff. It shows that businesses really can make significant and lasting reductions to their environmental impact. Above all though, it demonstrates that the principles underlying flexible working really are the principles that will build the future of work, and determine the way that people, technology and buildings interact in the decades and centuries ahead." The company is to support flexible working options further.
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