The phenomenon which is mobile working and has taken off in the UK in recent years has been mainly based on technology and how it has allowed the practice to evolve.
According to Robert Half UK, 38 per cent of companies will offer the option to work from home or a third place in the next six months.
None of this could have been possible without the development of the internet and devices such as smartphones and tablet computers.
The next step, it seems is for more companies to make use of videoconferencing as it is becoming increasingly more sophisticated and adaptable.
Jon Knight, audio visual expert at Smartinteractive.co.uk, said: “That really takes it to the next level, because it enables these people working remotely to not be limited with what it is they’re actually doing when they’re at home.”
It may be the case that firms who allow staff to work remotely give them a different set of tasks to do than they would have received had they been in the office.
Videoconferencing means that this is no longer the case as the possibilities for interaction with clients and other parts of the country have increased exponentially.
Mr Knight said: “There are some businesses, for example, that want to reduce the amount of office space they have to provide for their staff.
“So they might say to a member of staff, ‘we’d ideally like you to work from home one or two days a week, so it’d allow us to have a hot desk system, which would allow us to reduce the size of the office that we have to provide as a way of reducing costs’.”
Remote working can be mutually beneficial for staff and employers as both can save money, whether it is through office space or travel costs.
Many workers enjoy the freedom mobile work gives them in order to help balance their lives with their jobs.
