IT sector says yes to flexible working

Working from home

Flexible working is encouraged the most by the mobile and IT sectors, a report has shown.

A survey by YouGov, commissioned by Orange, discovered that 39 per cent of businesses within those industries offered employees flexible working, topping a list including media, law and health services.

But the survey of 4,500 employees also found 50 per cent of those allowed to work at home were not provided the technology they needed to do so such as laptops, mobile phones or broadband.

Paul Tollet, Orange's vice president of business in the UK, said: "Flexible working doesn't have to involve significant financial investment from business - just a clear policy to ensure it is offered fairly and a willingness to provide employees with the tools they need to get the job done."

This survey is part of a bigger picture with Orange setting out to uncover "the most flexible city in the UK." It has found that 63 per cent of businesses in the UK offer some form of flexibility to their staff but 36 per cent do not offer any flexible options.

Tollet said: "It's great that over half the UK working population is able to take advantage of flexible working. But the fact that over 35 per cent of employers have yet to consider it is surprising, particularly when the benefits are well acknowledged."

IT PRO conducted its own experiment earlier this month on National Work from Home day, finding out the top tech to help you at home, how to avoid distractions and whatyour views of flexible working are. Read more to find out how it went.

Jennifer Scott

Jennifer Scott is a former freelance journalist and currently political reporter for Sky News. She has a varied writing history, having started her career at Dennis Publishing, working in various roles across its business technology titles, including ITPro. Jennifer has specialised in a number of areas over the years and has produced a wealth of content for ITPro, focusing largely on data storage, networking, cloud computing, and telecommunications.

Most recently Jennifer has turned her skills to the political sphere and broadcast journalism, where she has worked for the BBC as a political reporter, before moving to Sky News.