1996 - European Telework Week

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Telework 96 The attitude of the majority of participants in these centres to the idea of teleworking was overwhelmingly positive. Telework was seen as potentially offering flexibility, control over the working environment, greater opportunities and social integration. However, there was frustration at the lack of immediate paid work. A common problem between countries was the 'benefits trap', where any attempt to take paid work led to immediate loss of disability benefits. In a series of recommendations, the TWIN partners have argued that people with disabilities who can be employed through teleworking should not lose social welfare benefits as a consequence. Teleworking by disabled people should never be introduced to segregate disabled employees from non-disabled workers. 2.6.3. Telecentres and larger businesses The growing network of Telecentres (sometimes called Telecottages) in several European countries provide access at local community level to information and telecommunications technology. Most of these Telecentres have been supported initially by grant-funding, but increasingly other sources of income will be needed to enable them to continue. One possibility is for them to offer workspace for rental use (on a full-time, part-time or occasional basis) by employees and contractors of larger organisations based elsewhere. This sort of 'neighbourhood office' concept has potential advantages over home-based telework (including the opportunity for social and technical support, access to administrative services and to sophisticated technology). It provides an alternative also to the traditional branch office model for larger organisations, or to the use of outsourcing companies. The neighbourhood office idea was piloted successfully in four out of six local Telecentres which participated in the OFFNET project, the successful projects being located in Austria and the United Kingdom. The centres found that in general clients for the pilots were found through personal contacts rather than through the major marketing and publicity drives undertaken. An enthusiastic 'sponsor' at a senior level within the client organisation was necessary to drive forward the neighbourhood office idea. Private sector organisations are in general at present unfamiliar with the neighbourhood office concept. Although home-based teleworking has a number of disadvantages for employers, companies which are contemplating moves to flexible work models are influenced by cost considerations which tend at present to favour home-based rather than neighbourhood office teleworking. By contrast, public sector organisations such as local government bodies have been found to be much more likely to be prepared to base staff at neighbourhood offices, partly through a desire to provide service delivery close to citizens. The most successful pilot under the OFFNET project saw about 30 staff from a local authority in Wales working out of a neighbourhood office. 2.6.4. Teleworking across national boundaries The technology which makes teleworking possible helps to make it more possible to work across national boundaries. - 50 -
Telework 96 The TWIN pilot sites, the OFFNET neighbourhood offices, and the HRM TC project TeleService Centres all engaged in trans-national networking. The OFFNET project, for example, undertook a pilot language translation service, taking advantage of the opportunity to transfer files electronically by CompuServe. The OFFNET experiment helped to identify some of the constraints to the development of inter-trading between Telecentres. The OFFNET partners point out that there must be sound commercial reasons (such as quality, speed or price considerations) for sending work internationally to another centre. There are also technical issues to resolve, such as ensuring that payment is made without delay and without unnecessary administration. The EVONET project explored ways that business travellers could have access to the computing and telematic services they need whilst physically on the move. Several members of the Global Office Network, an alliance of business centres in cities across Europe which rent out office space, participated in a project to provide computing facilities for business-people, available for use on a casual 'walk-in' basis. In total, these 'kitted workstations' were installed in centres in The Hague, Amsterdam, Salzburg, Berlin, Bombay, Delhi, Paris (3), Lyon, Budapest, Essen, Dortmund, Hagen, London (2), Prague and Nice. Initial plans to provide a uniform standard of service in each city proved premature. Kitted workstations provide travellers at the least with a desk, telephone and access to shared computer printer facilities, but several centres have made more sophisticated equipment available. Business centres vary in how they charge for workstation usage but in general informal booking systems are favoured, relying on a high level of trust. Security issues have generally not proved problematical. Teleworking across national boundaries is clearly technically possible, as these four projects have helped to demonstrate. There remain, however, some practical barriers to be faced. For example, the EVONET partners point out that their demonstration of trunk-to-trunk switching and the 'virtual' office concept raises legal issues - if business is conducted in this way, which country's trading and tax laws apply to any business contracts agreed - 51 -
Page 1 and 2: Actions for stimulation of transbor
Page 3 and 4: Foreword FOREWORD Today telework is
Page 5 and 6: Acknowledgements ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS M
Page 7 and 8: Table of contents TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page 9 and 10: Table of contents 4. TELEWORK UNDER
Page 11 and 12: Telework 96 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1. Wh
Page 13 and 14: Telework 96 So is the “ACTS Telew
Page 15 and 16: Telework 96 2. TELEWORK STIMULATION
Page 17 and 18: Telework 96 Evolution of the n° of
Page 19 and 20: Telework 96 EMPLOYMENT CREATION. It
Page 21 and 22: Telework 96 2.2. The employment and
Page 23 and 24: Telework 96 need to be balanced and
Page 25 and 26: Telework 96 1. An opening into the
Page 27 and 28: Telework 96 Global trends such as d
Page 29 and 30: Telework 96 • the percentage of v
Page 31 and 32: Telework 96 in many labour-intensiv
Page 33 and 34: Telework 96 competition authorities
Page 35 and 36: Telework 96 The UK and France are t
Page 37 and 38: Telework 96 The telework demand fig
Page 39 and 40: Telework 96 critical times on ad ho
Page 41 and 42: Telework 96 The present tax laws in
Page 43 and 44: Telework 96 2.5. Telework and Small
Page 45 and 46: Telework 96 ‘smallness’ of any
Page 47 and 48: Telework 96 • Grouping SMEs regio
Page 49: Telework 96 2.6.2. Telecentres and
Page 53 and 54: Telework 96 2.7.3. Maximising the a
Page 55 and 56: Telework 96 2.7.5. Using technology
Page 57 and 58: Telework 96 3. EUROPEAN TELEWORK WE
Page 59 and 60: Telework 96 Germany Irish Teleworki
Page 61 and 62: Telework 96 In all, the media relat
Page 63 and 64: Telework 96 In Sweden, where nation
Page 65 and 66: Telework 96 4. TELEWORK UNDER THE A
Page 67 and 68: Telework 96 4.2.3. Planned Output f
Page 69 and 70: Telework 96 AC 028 TOBASCO - Toward
Page 71 and 72: Telework 96 AC075 EIES - European I
Page 73 and 74: Telework 96 AC114 SMARTS - SME and
Page 75 and 76: Telework 96 Special attention is ne
Page 77 and 78: The development of EU actions to st
Page 79 and 80: The development of EU actions to st
Page 81 and 82: ACTS and the Chain Concertation Mec
Page 89 and 90: Participants In Telework Initiative
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Participants In Telework Initiative
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Publications Annex 4 ANNEX 4 PUBLIC
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Publications Annex 4 1. PUBLICATION
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Publications Annex 4 T1020 La Gacet
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Publications Annex 4 2. PUBLICATION
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Network Sources of Published Inform
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Network Sources of Published Inform
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1996 - European Telework Week

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