As I drove down the A4 between Maidenhead and Slough this morning, I passed the headquarters of several major organisations. One of them, I noticed, was O2. What I did not notice, but found out later by listening to Radio 4, was that the offices were empty today for a dummy run of enforced home-working.
You can find out more by reading here.
As someone who always works flexibly (when clients permit), I find the 'presenteeism' culture immensely debilitating. Why must I attend an office and use their technology and expensive desk space to be working? In fact, for most of my clients, it's not an issue, but I know other freelancers who find it is so.
It'll take more than one day for O2 to get the systems and the mind-set right so it's not a free day off, but it's a start and a move in the right (virtual) direction. After all, if one of the world's technology giants can't do it, then who can?
Today has been spent in my car (Radio 4 on a 123 miles round-trip to Maidenhead), a branch of Starbucks (checking emails with the ubiquitous green tea) and Cafe Rouge (researching in a magazine for a forthcoming project). Now I'm back at my desk and I can definitely achieve more, differently here, but I've already been productive. At least part of it provided - at my cost - by O2.
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