Thursday, 4th December 2008

The issue of flexible working continues to inspire lively debate amongst businesses, employees and politicians alike. However there is clearly still a concern that flexible workers working away from the office are less productive and spend their days watching day time TV rather than glued to their laptop.

What’s more the flexible working phenomenon has thrown up new generations of workers who refuse to be confined to the office. Often nicknamed moofers (Mobile Out of Office), they maximise their productivity by working at the best time, from the best place for them. This new breed of  mobile workers have discovered a wealth of places suitable for working that are a world apart from the strip-light clad world of the office. From the coffee shops with wi-fi access throughout the country to the smartphone-wielding workers sitting in parks, everywhere we look we can see new definitions of the perfect working environment.

James McCarthy, Director, Windows Mobile UK, is the quintessential moofer. James successfully juggles family life and a busy job by arranging his working day to fit around his various commitments. He comments, “The office environment is not necessarily suited to all tasks, and various places work for different people working on different projects. Whilst the home is arguably the best place to work on tasks that require high concentration, it’s not always suited to tasks that require a creative state of mind. For this, many find it useful to work from parks, art galleries or even the beach. Time at the office should be utilised for integration with colleagues and relationship building activities, so workers should ensure that their time in the office is dedicated to this.”

With today’s fast-moving lifestyle, workers are becoming reluctant to put their lifestyle on hold for a job, and the onus is much more on adapting working practices to suit the individual. For example, Christine Featherstone, occupational therapist from Hampshire County Council, recent winner of MOOFER of the year at the People Moving Business awards, used to spend an hour travelling to the office for meetings, before she would go out to visit customers. She would work late just to avoid the traffic on her way home. But now, through the use of mobile technology, Christine arranges her working life to suit her home life. She began to work hours that suited her and her customers, attending appointments at 7am or 6pm local to her home in Fareham, filing reports from home and taking breaks in the middle of the day where she could meet friends for lunch or go to the dentist. Christine says, “Work no longer dominates my life,” she says. “I get lots of job satisfaction.”

Good work can be produced anywhere, at any time, with ever-improving technology such as laptops and smartphones to assist, working from any environment really is possible. It’s up to the individual to decide where and whey they are most productive, ultimately “work is not a place you go but a thing you do”.