Teleworking: an assessment of the benefits and challenges

Of all the changes in work over the last century, arguably the greatest impact upon the way work is done can be attributed to the exponential growth of flexible working patterns. The basis of flexible working is captured by a BT plc strap-line: work is not a place where you go but rather something you do! As the renowned futurist, Alvin Toffler, has indicated – “work is not necessarily going to take place in offices or factories. It is going to take place everywhere, anytime” (Toffler, A., The Third Wave, Morrow, New York, NY, 1980). There is a wealth of guidance available on how to improve the flexibility available within organizations from the enormous range of “flexible working solutions” books through to the consultancies that now include flexible working as prominent packages in their service portfolio. In this paper, the teleworking means of flexible working is explored and an assessment is made of its growth, advantages and disadvantages, implementation programs for successful teleworking and a case assessing the advances that BT plc have made in becoming a teleworking organization