Basic HTML Version
GenM 2013: One Year On
paints a picture of
a UK workforce suffering from feelings of
emotional stress, isolation and distrust of
colleagues, particularly home workers.
In a survey of 1,000 workers in office-based
companies, three quarters of respondents admit
to having at least one work-related anxiety.
These include feeling undervalued (33%), poor
interpersonal relationships (32%), anxiety and stress
(29%), exhaustion (24%) and isolation (20%).
Home workers enjoy the best mental health and
well-being of the four groups surveyed (contact
centre agents, office workers, home workers and
mobile professionals). However, their distance from
office-based colleagues creates problems.
More than half (55%) think home working breeds
mistrust, citing negative gossip (11%), a perception
that they ‘do not work as hard’ (13%) and suspicion
that they undertake ‘personal tasks’ in work time
(31%) as factors.
One in three believes home working could
put one’s career at risk and just 14% say that
remote working is accepted and regarded as being
productive within their organisation.
Even so,
seven out of 10
workers (69%)
either work from
home or have a
colleague that
does; 24% want to work from home more often;
and 15% would only take a job in the future if it
was home-based.
Andrew Doyle, Managing Director UK &
Ireland, Jabra Business Solutions, argues that poor
communications plays a large part in dividing
groups and says the importance of face-to-face
communication is being underestimated.
“As well as equipping themselves with the right
type of technology, such as ‘smart’ devices, multi-use
headsets and Unified Communications applications,
enterprises should consider the importance of core
communications good practice: they can help to
maintain happy, cohesive, motivated and productive
workforces by encouraging more back-to-basics
face-to-face and verbal interaction whether in
person or via technology.”
www.gnnetcom.com
Superfast broadband
still in the slow lane
Businesses in rural areas will have
to wait longer for an acceptable
broadband service, according to a
report by the National Audit Office
(NAO). The NAO warns that the
rural broadband programme is 22
months behind schedule and that
only 9 out of 44 local projects will
meet the May 2015 deadline for
90% of the population to have
access to the superfast broadband
network. Four areas could miss their
revised 2017 target.
Harry Cotterell, President of the
Country Land and Business Association
(CLA), said: “To have so few projects
likely to complete by May 2015 is
a shocking indictment of the way
this has been carried out. For the
past two years, we have said there
is no conceivable way 2015 targets
would be met by rolling out superfast
broadband through Broadband
Delivery UK and Local Authorities.
What really concerns me is the lack
of transparency in the procurement
process.With BT the only bidder,
the lack of competition brings into
question the programme’s value for
money.”
MarkWynn, managing director of
satellite broadband company Avonline
Broadband, said: “Relying on the major
infrastructure providers alone is proving
to be a disaster for the many rural areas
still facing years of limited or poor
internet. The time has come to stop
putting all our eggs into one basket.”
As an example of what can be
achieved he cites the iNorthumberland
programme in which the digital arm
of Northumberland County Council
selected satellite and wireless operators
to work with them to complement BT’s
BDUK-funded rural broadband project.
He said: “Before even one kilometre
of fibre has hit the planning board,
Avonline is already connecting
satellite broadband customers in
Northumberland to its 20Mbps service.
Our message is simple: satellite
broadband is universally available right
now across the whole of the UK for
just £25 a month with no public sector
investment required.”
www.cla.org.uk
www.avonlinebroadband.co.uk
agenda
01732 759725
magazine
05
Home working a source of
conflict and division
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09/07/2013 21:59
The reality of flexible working falls far short of the
vision being peddled by the IT community, headset
manufacturer Jabra warns in a new report.
1
GenM 2013: ONE YEAR ON
ARE WE REAPING THE REWARDS OF THE
COMMUNICATIONS REVOLUTION?
New Jabra study discovers that effective workplace
communication is about more than just the technology
that enables it