flexible working – Page 2 – ConferenceCall.co.uk blog

Published February 2, 2022

Work from home – do you need a nanny?

The distractions come thick and fast when you’re working from home – daytime TV, housework, knocks at the door, and cold callers on the phone all do their best to break your concentration.

And then the cat seems to need feeding every five minutes – while there’s no doubting having a pet around the place can help alleviate the loneliness that can come with working from home, they’re not always great for productivity, but they’re nothing compared to having a baby around the house while you’re trying to work – so, if you’re a work from home parent, is it time you considered taking on a nanny?

Flexible working Inspiration Work from home

business flexible working work from home

Published January 26, 2022

What are the best online bookkeeping tools?

Accounting is one of the most arduous tasks a small business owner has to face – all you want to do is get on with the day-to-day running of things but each month you end up getting yourself lost in a mountain of receipts, bank statements, pay slips and credit notes.

The good news is, there is accounting software out there that can help, you just need to know exactly what it is you’re after to find the right software to suit your business needs.

Technology

business flexible working online technology work from home

Published December 15, 2021

How to work from home

Employees are being told to work from home wherever possible as part of the government’s ‘Plan B’ to tackle the Omicron variant of Covid-19 – a new strain that’s thought to be the most transmissible yet.

The coronavirus pandemic has seen more people than ever working from home, and many businesses now use a ‘hybrid’ working system, where employees spend some time at home and some at the office. By the start of December this year, more than two-thirds of staff travelled to work at least once.

More than a third (36%) of British staff did some form of remote working in 2020, according to the Office for National Statistics. And it’s a way working that has caused some strong debate – some have even suggested home workers should be paid less than those that travel into the office.

The truth is, working from home isn’t for everyone. But, if done correctly, it can be a great way of working and keeping a healthy work/life balance. To make sure you’re making the most of telecommuting, here’s how to work from home.

Guides & How-Tos Work from home

flexible working how to work from home

Published November 3, 2021

5 things you might miss about working in an office

If the coronavirus lockdown forced you into working remotely, the novelty of being able to wear your pyjamas while working and holding meetings over a conference call may well have worn off by now.

You might even be welcoming some calls from some in government for us all to get back to the office. Even the morning commute might seem like it would offer some respite if you’re sick of working from the spare room.

If you’re hankering for a return to the communal kitchen and your open plan workspace, here are five things you might well be missing about working in the office.

Guides & How-Tos Work from home

flexible working work from home

Published November 2, 2021

Does your business need an open plan office layout?

As we’re all being encouraged to get back to the office, so the state of the space we’re going back to has become all the more important. Although we may have been cramped into a spare room or even the corner of the living while working from home during the pandemic, we were still working from home and able to reap the benefits of that.

But if we’re going back to the office, who wants to be cooped-up in a partitioned workspace? If you’re not interacting with colleagues, you may as well be sat in that cramped corner of the room at home.

So could an open plan office layout be the answer?

Flexible working Inspiration

business flexible working

Published September 30, 2021

Is working from home ruining work?

It’s no secret that many in government and and at the top of some of the world’s biggest companies want us to stop working from home and return to the office. It was only a matter of weeks ago that a government minister floated the idea that civil servants who work from home should be paid less than those that work from the office.

Meanwhile, Google has stated that it will be handing out pay cuts to US staff who opt to work from home full time.

We think it’s a terrible idea, and employees need to be treated like grown ups – just because you can’t see your staff, it doesn’t mean they’re not working. And what’s the point in adhering to a strict nine-to-five workday?

On the other hand, there is definitely a disconnect when working from home, and we do lose those moments of serendipity when a casual conversation turns into a winning idea for your business.

But it’s all about balance.

Flexible working Work from home

business flexible working work from home

Published September 29, 2021

Essential tools for remote working

The last 18 months have seen more people than ever thrust into a situation where they’ve had to work from home. And as we emerge out the other side, many businesses are considering a ‘remote first’ policy or ‘hybrid’ working (part time home and part time office).

If your business is going to offer remote working, you’ll have to make sure your equipment is up to scratch and employees can work just as well from home as they can from the office.

The trouble is, technology is advancing at a breakneck speed so it can be difficult to work out exactly what equipment will be needed – keeping employees in touch via teleconference is easy enough, but will you need additional hardware and software to enable employees to do their job while on the move?

To help answer this question, here are a few essential tools for businesses on the move…

Flexible working Work from home

flexible working technology work from home

Published September 2, 2021

11 quick tips for setting up an office at home

The pandemic saw more of us working from home than ever before. If you’re looking to make it a permanent arrangement (or even a semi-permanent one), check out our 11 invaluable tips to setting up an office at home.

Flexible working Guides & How-Tos Work from home

conference call flexible working guide how to work from home

Published August 18, 2021

Is it worth taking a pay cut to work from home?

Last week we asked should work from home staff take a pay cut on the back of calls from government ministers to cut the wages of work from home civil servants, and Google’s decision to hand out pay cuts to US staff who opt to work from home full time.

For the record, we think it’s an awful idea that stinks of bosses trying to make more money with back door wage cuts. But, if it came to it, how many of us would actually agree to take a pay cut for the privilege?

Flexible working

flexible working

Published August 11, 2021

Working from home – the case for the defence

Working from home got many people and business through the worst of the pandemic, but it seems the honeymoon is over as ‘unnamed’ government ministers are calling for home workers to be hit with pay cuts.

It’s quite obviously a cynical and blatant ploy to get people back into offices before the value of their property portfolios plummet. But it seems to be gaining some traction as Google has floated the idea of cutting the pay of any US employees who choose to work from home indefinitely.

Some commentators are even suggesting that travel costs are covered in salaries, and so a cut is fair (or fare) enough if employees aren’t commuting. Which is, of course, absolute nonsense – how many people really negotiate salary based upon the cost of their commute.

So, to try and cut through the bluster, we’ve put together a case in defence of working from home.

Flexible working Work from home

flexible working work from home

Tag: <span>flexible working</span>