Whilst the notion of working from home as been discussed since as early as the 1970s, it is only now that there are the technologies in place to make it a realistic possibility. The rise of high speed broadband internet connections is now facilitating the almost instantaneous transfer of large amounts of information over large distances. These technological advancements are allowing companies to navigate the traditional geographical barriers which existed in the workplace, large companies such as PwC and IBM operate ‘hot-desking’ policies designed to improve worker flexibility and reduce the costs of their physical infrastructure.

The increased desire from both employers and employees for home working will present a range of new concerns for both sides. Employers must consider how they maintain a degree of control over their staff and how they create an integrated work force without there being a geographical link between them. IBM has recently responded to this issue by establishing a presence in Second Life, a virtual world where digital representations of individuals meet for both business and social purposes, the area is designed for use by IBM staff and clients to build a sense of community and to facilitate virtual networking events.

These types of virtual environments may also help employees to deal with the isolation they may suffer from whilst working from home. Most people accept that whilst working from home is a viable business proposition, the methods need to be refined in order to ensure that workers meet their minimum requirements for social interaction. Another potential solution to this problem is the concept of ‘being spaces,’ these are office buildings placed in residential hubs, they allow any individual from any organisation to rent office space and include cafes and facilities where visitors can work and socialise in the traditional manner. 

The reduced need for a physical base has also aided the creation of micro businesses run by sole traders or small partnerships. These organisations are often run as lifestyle businesses or in order to supplement income received from a traditional ‘9 to 5’ job.

Fact File

• The North East has invested in making 100% of its exchanges broadband enabled, it has the best broadband availability level outside of London.
• 9,539,900 people in the UK are subscribed to broadband (15.9%). This is above both the OCED and EU15 averages. However, we are still behind the rates shown by countries such as Iceland, Korea, Finland and Belgium.
• 3.1 million (11% of total people employed) people are regular home-based workers,  Of these 2.4 million are teleworkers - people who work with computers and telecommunications to work at or from home.
• Research has shown that working from home is especially popular in rural areas.