Use the phone work from home

Back in the 1970s British Rail came up with the slogan “let the train take the strain”. So successful was the advert that the slogan itself moved into popular history and is still quoted regularly. Through the period of privatisation of the railways and on to the present day, successive Governments have done their best to encourage us to take the train and other forms of public transport to ease congestion on our roads.

Now in a twist of fortune, the government is worried about the effect of the Olympics on transport. The new mantra is therefore to encourage us to work more from home or vary our commuting times.

In pursuit of this new policy the Transport Minister, Norman Baker, made a key speech on a visit to BT on 3rd August. In the speech Mr Baker urged Londoners and those who travel to London for work to radically change their working patterns for the period of the games. Suggestions include:

• Cycling or walking to work
• Trying alternative routes which avoid the Olympic Park area
• Staggering journey times
• Working remotely
• Using video conferencing

The reason behind this move to an alternative way of working is the 3 million extra journeys expected to be made over the period of the games, something that will put a considerable strain on the transport infrastructure. Mr Baker said The Games will be a once-in-a-generation test for both our transport system and our adaptability. As we edge ever closer to the Olympics, hand-in-hand with new investment must go new solutions.

Luckily for all those who are faced with the challenge of working from home, the telephone industry has moved on considerably from those far off days of the 1970s. VoIP, telephone calls via the internet, have considerably reduced the cost of calling within this country and calling abroad. Virtual switchboards which recognise callers and transfer calls to any point within the world mean that it is easily to work from home with all calls being seamlessly switched to a home or mobile number.

Aside from the virtual switchboard, one of the most important benefits to the home business worker is the conference call facility. Once requiring complex within-office equipment, now a conference call can be set up using a virtual conference facility. With the added benefit of the call being recorded for later transcription or as a record of the call it is now often more time efficient for meetings to take place via a conference call than physically within an office.

There is no doubt that despite extensive planning the Olympics will have an impact on transport. Being able to work from local offices or from home means that we can all play our part in keeping that disruption to a minimum; whilst enjoying the increased productivity that home working often brings.