A free members’ resource signposting you to other useful organisations supporting women in the workplace.
We welcome and would like to introduce you to one of our new experts to the Return2workmums Resource Centre - Paula Wynne of Remote Employment
Remote Employment is a value add jobs boards which specialises in promoting flexible and remote working jobs. Paula is herself a working mum and has many years experience of working freelance in order to try and manage her career around the needs of her family. She is passionate about helping employers connect to talented individuals for remote working and freelance style jobs.
Paula outlines for us the remote working opportunity for our mums returning to work....
Remote Working
Remote working is starting to really come of age. Adopting a modern day approach to our working lives has many benefits for the indivdual and our wider community. Remote working can help to:
1. Increase business productivity and competitiveness,
2. Reduce transport congestion and pollution,
3. Improve health by reducing stress,
4. Assist disadvantaged groups and
5. Help to harmonise our work and family commitments.
Remote working or home working, as it is also known, gives employers the added advantage of recruiting talented individuals from anywhere in the country instead of just around their local office.
The ability to select staff from a wider geographical base of talent plus the cost savings of not having to fund large offices to accommdate all the workforce are also adding to the business attractiveness of remote working for employers.
The numbers to back up these statements
Research shows that the structure of the UK employment market is going to be reshaped dramatically over the next four years. There are already around 3.4 million people in the UK working from home. This number is expected to almost double its size to the point where over 20% of the UK workforce (c.6.5m employees) will be remote working by 2012*.
More than 8 million people will earn some form of income from home and 2.8 million registered businesses will generate median annual turnover of £51,000 - £100,000**.
By staying off the roads at peak congestion times, home workers will help to reduce CO2 emissions by at least 18 million kg.** *
The South East has the highest proportion of commuters with the average person spending the equivalent of an additional working day each week commuting. It also boasts the biggest proportion of home workers: over 600,000 people work from home (excluding London), which is nearly 15 per cent of the working population. This has increased by nearly a quarter in the last decade****.
Data Source:
1. * The Work Wise Organisation, World Advertising Research Centre
2. **Invisible Businesses: the characteristics of home-based businesses in the United Kingdom' by Colin Mason, Sara Carter and Stephen Tagg, Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow. July 2008
3. ***Professor Peter James, 'Homeworking and Carbon Reduction – the evidence' published in 'Can homeworking save the planet' edited by Tim Dwelly and Andy Lake. Published by The Smith Institute, November 2008.
4. **** SEEDA Women's Enterprise.
Professor Colin Mason, Professor of Entrepreneurship, Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship, University of Strathclyde tells us "There will be a significant growth in the numbers of home based businesses in 2009. The key drivers of this trend, such as cheap and powerful IT, the ease of engaging in e-commerce, demographics and the growth of project-based employment will continue and, if anything, get stronger. But in addition, the economic crisis will drive additional growth, both through home based business start-ups by people who have lost their jobs and also through existing small businesses moving into the home as a means of reducing costs."
Benefits of Working Remotely or Working From Home
As we all strive for better work/life balances, home or remote working becomes an even more attractive work choice and one which is gaining recognition and popularity amongst employers who are looking for cost effective employment solutions. The potential benefits of a ‘work remotely’ solution for the candidate are:
* Flexible hours which are a little more friendly for family life than traditional office based working
* More creative and flexible career progression
* Ability to build a business on your terms from home or another location
* The opportunity to be your own boss
* Ability to have greater control over life and work balance
* Variety of work and different cultures as not necessarily tied to one organisation.
Ultimately remote or home working gives greater control to the worker about his/her conditions of employment. This is obviously not without its challenges but offers a much higher degree of flexibility than previous work models.
Hunting Down Those Flexible and Remote Working Jobs
Remote Employment has embraced and is helping to support the growth in business demand for flexible and remote working. Its specialist jobs board focuses on advertising real flexible jobs, whether freelance, home based jobs, employers offering working from home contracts, plus home based business opportunities, franchises and outsourced contracts. The options are varied as are the employers who are now interested in taking a more creative approach to employment and managing a professional and experience workforce.
No matter what your current circumstances - whether you are a Mum, a lawyer, a secretary, a domestic Dad, a freelancer, an office worker or self employed - there are lots of remote working jobs and opportunities to progress your career or run your own business all of which can be done remotely or at home! You just need to know where to look and how to apply. Remote Employment could be a useful starting point to register as a candidate and start your remote working campaign.
How Return2WorkMums can help
If you would like to know more about this style of working and how to brush up your CV and approach for remote working and the freelance job market, then contact us or join up for our free membership to gain access to lots of self coaching notes and our forum for some lively debate and encouragement for your return to work.