eWORK 2000 - European Telework Week

New Ways to Work 2000European TeleworkThe principal outstanding issues which remain to be addressed are the following :• Most teleworkers and their colleagues report significant benefits and no negative impacts. However, somemanagers are still concerned about communications, both between the teleworker and the manager and theteleworker and the rest of the team. Where informal face-to-face contacts still dominate communications insome Commission Units, specific measures will be needed to address this problem (e.g. more structuredexchanges, involving all staff, including teleworkers).• The Pilot has been implemented with individual “Management agreements” between each teleworker,his/her immediate superior and the Director concerned. As in most other organisations, wider use oftelework options may also require a negotiated framework agreement setting out rights and responsibilitiesof the staff and the organisation in more general terms;• While the technical infrastructure supporting home-based telework has been greatly improved since lastyear, there is still room for improvement..• The rapid growth in capabilities of mobile communications opens up new teleworking options, much moreflexible in the place of work, for example while on official travel outside Brussels. Some of these optionshave been explored, but the technology capabilities continue to evolve very fast.A complete report of the evaluation of the Pilot, including an independent external evaluation, will bepublished in September 2000, and its conclusions will be taken into account in further development oftelework options.Personal benefits% of teleworkers9080706050403020100Less commuting timeLess stressLess interruptionsBetter work/family balanceMore time to readMore convenient work timeBetter working conditionsAble to work full-time- 146 -