Businesses are embracing flexible working styles, but boundaries need to be put in placeIn a modern-day society, maintaining a balance between work and life is becoming increasingly more difficult. However, it seems women are setting the bar and men should take note.
Independent research from Polycom, a global leader in video, voice and content collaboration, suggests that UK men are more likely to become distracted by work. They found men are a third more likely to take a conference call when they’re on holiday or with family.
Women can organise themselves more efficiently and prioritise tasks, meaning they have less risk of their personal life being interrupted by work.
Men usually attend conference calls on a plane, while women take calls on buses, trains and in taxis. In fact, more women than ever are participating in conference calls on the move.
The favourite location for conference calls is in the garden. Over a fifth of people choose to enjoy the fresh air while on a call. Video conferencing is continuing to grow in popularity, and 51% of the calls are made from outside the office setting. The change is believed to be due to the changing technology and availability of conferencing and collaborative calls.
Polycom highlighted this in its research, and Tim Stone, Polycom’s Vice President of Marketing, discussed how audio conferencing solutions have made it easy for conferences to take place all over the world. He also spoke about the importance of maintaining a balance between work and life.
The study also suggested that people will spend 30 hours on conference calls a year, and will have five virtual meetings monthly. Some people like to relax during their conference calls, with one in five having participated in their pajamas.
Conference calls have also become a way for a minority of people to resign from the job. One in a hundred people admitted to doing this. Video interviews are growing in popularity, with one in ten people having attended one. A third more women than men have been introduced to their potential employer by video.
Tim Stone also suggested that the UK workforce continues to become more mobile, with two-thirds of people working from home at least once a month. Businesses are embracing flexible working styles, but boundaries need to be put in place.
HR teams and business owners need to ensure flexibility doesn’t decrease productivity. If that can happen, then an increasingly mobile workforce is achievable.
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