The Civil Service is to become part of the new trend for flexible and mobile working, with the Olympic Games acting as a catalyst for this change.
This new approach will continue after the summer’s events are finished, bringing working practices across Whitehall up-to-date, reports the London Evening Standard.
Staff will be able to work in any government building in a form of hot desking, with technology put in place to aid this and a single security pass to gain entry.
This measure should cut down travelling time and expenses as civil servants will be able to work from the location closest to them.
On top of this many meetings which would have been conducted face-to-face in the past will be carried out through video conferencing instead.
Flexible working will be encouraged in order to avoid peak travelling times, as well as mobile working with some staff carrying out their roles from home.
The changes are the brainchild of Francis Maude, a cabinet minister, and Sir Bob Kerslake, who became the new head of the Civil Service 25 days ago.
Mr Maude told the news provider: “What we are particularly concerned to do is to find ways of changing behaviour and patterns which will give us a continuing benefit – this is the Civil Service legacy that we are seeking from the Olympics.”
More and more businesses in the UK are finding this way of working suits their employees and that developments in technology are facilitating its implementation.
The Civil Service has often been slow to adapt to new ways of working in the past, but having a reason, such as the Olympic Games as a catalyst, helps to bring about changes.
It should lead to more efficient working and a cut in costs as well as carbon emissions in the long term.
