Location Independent Working Conference (April 2009)
“…Work is not a place where you go but rather something you do”
Morgan R.E. (2004) Teleworking: An assessment of the benefits and challenges, European Business Review
David Morris introduced the day with a series of concise slides explaining the concept and also that his project was a 3 month pilot. A series of presentations took place that gave different perspectives from the institution.
The Basics
- LIW Is a formal recognising that work does not just take place on the campus and supports people in working from other locations.
- LIW staff give up their offices but have “touch down” spaces on the campus.
- Training the staff and managers involved in the pilot was essential.
Some Myths
- Everyone is doing it anyway.
- LIW is for everyone.
- It’s a recipe for avoiding work.
- LIW staff are never around and the rest of us can’t talk to them.
- LIW people get left out.
- Non-LIW colleagues carry the can.
Expected Benefits
Individual
- Improved Work-Life Balance
- Reduced commute time
- Reduced travel cost
- Reduced Stress
- Legitimisation of home working
Employer
- Improved work flexibility
- Improved recruitment (good working environment attractive to potential employees)
- Reduced absenteeism and stress
Environment
- Lower Carbon Footprint
- Reduced congestion and transport burden
- Improved teaching quality and innovation in teaching
The Process
At Coventry all staff went through a process to support them and the scheme. This involved Consultation with staff > Briefing Sessions > Expressions of interest > Decision Making (is LIW appropriate for members of staff) > Training > IT Consultation (what staff needed) > T & Cs (formal LIW Policy) > Set up and Start up
At Coventry….
120 people attended briefings, 52 expressed interest, 35 participated (25 academic, 10 non academic)
Lessons they learned
- Have a senior champion – who believes in it
- Create LIW spaces, both big and small (promote cross dept etc)
- A formal system is essential
- Training is important
- Dispel the myths
- Process for storage of University owned material.
The Day closed by looking at the “costs” of LIW
There was a caveat placed on the data in that individual costs can very enormously. In terms of carbon saving it was predicted that a saving of somewhere between 133kg and 785kg.
At Coventry University it estimated that, per member of staff, a notional saving of £1,061 could be made, per annum. This figure includes start up costs of the scheme, office space, heating etc.
Further details http://cuba.coventry.ac.uk/culiw/
An interview with the Project Manager Dina Shah
