eWORK 2000 - European Telework Week

New Ways to Work 2000European TeleworkMenWomenHas used a mobile phone 84 % 76 %Has a mobile phone in own use 73 % 61 %Uses mobile SMS messages 58 % 51 %Uses a computer somewhere 60 % 60 %Has access to Internet somewhere 35 % 32 %Has at least one e-mail address 31 % 27 %Source: Statistics Finland bulletin Tietoaika 6/2000The significance of technology is in its natural and everyday applications in business and service activities;and on the other hand a Finnish speciality is the building and marketing of new technological systems. InFinnish export, high-tech has surpassed the value of paper products and that of the other metal industries. Theforerunners in electronic communication with customers have been the state authorities and the bank sector. Amultitude of services are available through the Internet. Electronic commerce is still modest, and servicesutilising the WAP standard are at the beginning of their life span.Mobile data transmission technologies have developed strongly. The possibilities to perform multiple-locationmobile work is increasing as mobile data communication becomes more widespread. According to the”Telework and Mobile Office 2000” study (Market-Visio, 2000, page 6 ) on an average a fifth of all work inorganisations is done in different locations outside the office – however not in the form of home-basedtelework. It has been estimated that in 2002, a fourth of the work will be performed in that way. The largestshare of off-office work - one third already - was found in organisations in the service sector.Statistics on teleworkingAn inquiry made in 1997 by the Ministry of Labour indicated that 12 percent of employees do telework.During the 1990s, the annual growth has been about 2 percentage units. However, the daily amount oftelework hours is usually low. Only 3 percent of employees telework at least one day a week.Working at home hours per month Persons % of employees1-8 hours per month (maximum 1 telework day per month) 94 600 5 %9-16 hours per month (max. 2 telework days per month) 70 400 4 %17 - 40 hours per month (appr. 1 telework day per week – full-time 55 000 3 %telework)Total 210 000 12 %Source: Hanhike Tiina: The overview of the Finnish ESF –telework projects, ESF -Publications 55/99 page 2.http://www.uta.fi/telework/englishSome studies indicate that elements of telework are far more common than described above, because manypeople who work outside the office with the help of ICT see themselves as working overtime rather thanteleworking.According to the European Ecatt study in 1999, 16.8 percent of Finnish employees are teleworkers.(Electronic Commerce and Telework Trends, http://www.ecatt.com). eWork is a new term, and the number ofpeople encompassed by it has not been estimated in Finland.- 60 -