e-Work Week 2000 Awards

This submission is from the writer and journalist Andrew Bibby, for his writings and for the web site www.andrewbibby.com/telework.

Andrew Bibby is an independent writer and journalist who has written widely on the issue of teleworking and, more broadly, on the effects of information and communication technology on work organisation and management.

He is the author of a number of books and reports on aspects relating to this theme, including one of the first practical guides on telework intended for the non-specialist reader, Home is Where the Office is, published as long ago as 1991. He has looked in detail at the implications for industrial relations of new ways of working, in for example his report Teleworking and Trade Union Strategy.

He contributes regularly to the British national press, and his work has also appeared in French and German publications.

Since October 1995, Andrew Bibby has maintained a website where his writings on the subject are freely available. Currently the website includes the complete text of three reports, lengthy extracts from two books, and the full text of twenty-six articles. “Over the years I’ve been able to follow the developing story of teleworking. My policy is to make the information I’ve accumulated during this time as widely accessible as possible,” he says.

Andrew Bibby welcomes feedback from his website, and receives frequent requests for further information. A typical three-month period this summer brought in 35 enquiries, all of which received replies.
What can you find on www.andrewbibby.com/telework?

Technical detail

Case studies

Industrial relations

· the impact of new ways of working (example: call centres) on industrial relations and social partnership

International breadth

Community development

Applications of technology

Original research

Human interest

Individuals looking for work

Executives and managers

Policy-makers and Researchers

· Accurate information and case studies on telework implementation within the UK and internationally

Trade unionists

· Information on other trade union responses to telework and new ways of working

One of the aims of Andrew Bibby’s website is to assist in the widespread dissemination of information about telework and flexible working, and to encourage greater knowledge of current best practice.

Since the site was launched five years ago, several hundred enquiries have been received.

- students, usually MBA students, sometimes undergraduates, researching an aspect of telework

- employees of companies or institutions considering implementing telework, who have been charged with finding out more information

- international enquiries, particularly about offshore data processing and relocation of work

Emails always receive a response. (The only exception to this rule is where no return email address is given and mail sent as a direct reply is returned undelivered; this does occur with surprising regularity).

- a particular article on the website which the enquirer may have overlooked (or not bothered to look at)

The following examples have been taken from emails received in July and August 2000. The emails are printed exactly as received.

Dear Sir

I am about to commence a dissertation for year 3 of my MBA course. My chosen subject is Homeworking - from a managers perspective, in particluar looking at the different skills needed from that of a office workforce, how they may feel threatened, training needs etc.

I have found information from various sources, but whilst there seems to be quite alot of information on many aspects of homeworking, the issues for management that I would like to address do not appear to be looked at too often (although this is perhaps a bonus for my dissertation!).

I have found information presented by yourself very helpful, but would appreciate any useful guidance, articles, books, research that you could recommend.

Many thanks

Mr. Bibby,

I read with interest your article entitled Offshore Information Processing
in Barbados. Our company has several document conversion and XML coding
projects which require the services of a company such as Offshore
Keyboarding Corporation. I have been unable to find a way to contact this
company or their parent company Digital Imaging Systems, Inc. Do you have
any contact information for this company or can you recommend another
company who can perform similar services?

Thank you.

Dear Andrew,

As a complete novice to working from home, I am looking to gain from your experience in this field. Our baby is due in November and to ensure our financial status remains stable and to allow me a degree of financial independance, I wish to re-enter employment while raising our children.

Please can you advise me where to begin and who to contact with regards to opportunities for woman in my situation.

Lieber Andrew Bibby,
habe leider erst jetzt die fantastische Seite des Forum für arbeit entdeckt
und dabei ihre e-mail Adresse. Ich bin freie Autorin und recherchiere gerade
unter Hochdruck an einem Artikel über elektronische Überwachungsmethoden am
Arbeitsplatz in Deutschland (wie können sich die Arbeitnehmer davor
schützen...) der im November in einem deutschen Männermagazin erscheinen
soll. Vielleicht haben Sie ja Lust darin zitiert zu werden.
Meine Fragen an Sie:
Was ist in Deutschlands rechtens, was nicht?
Kennen Sie Kündigungsgründe/Fälle wegen privater e-mail und Internetnutzung
am Arbeitsplatz?

We are currently exploring ways of introducing homeworking/teleworking as a
flexible working option for our employees. In that regard I have been tasked
with researching this issue. I found your article on the Nationwide's
Homeworking Policy (published in Flexible Working) to be extremely useful
and I would be grateful if you could inform me how to obtain a copy of the
Nationwide's Policy itself.

We are having particular difficulty in relation to insurance/health and
safety regulations for our employees who will be homeworking on an
'occasional' basis only. Any guidance you could give on this topic would be
gratefully received.

Dear Andrew

I am presently carrying out a research project for my open university degree which is to examine the social aspects of remote working. The emphasis is to be on access and inequality.

Could you do me a great favour by letting me know a few places where i can find relevant data about this issue. Your own work seems to be looking in this area also.

Thanks for your time, if you are unable to help thanks any way.

Hello Andrew,

We read your article ineclipse.uk. and were very much impressed by it.
We are an organisation based in India and are offering data entry
services from our Indian operations. We are offering cost effective
rates coupled with good turnaround time and high reliability and
accuracy. In case, you are aware of any such companies who plan
to outsource their work, could you please refer them to us.
Hoping to hear soon from you.

regards

Just been reading and making notes from your website about
teleworking, and wanted to complement you on your clear writing
style.
I am studying with the OU (Information Technology and Society)
and our project is on teleworking - I have to look specifically at
'control' in teleworking. I will be looking at your links for any
relevant articles.
I may well be suffering from information overload by the end of the
day!
thanks again

Hi!

We are a group of portuguese universitary students and we are now doing our final work that is about TELEWORK.

We've visited your site and we would like to know if you can send us your book.

We hope to ear from you.

Dear Andrew

I found your details whilst searching for information on Televillages.

I work for a TV Production Company called /name omitted/ and am currently
working on a project about design-based working environments around the
world and how people interact within this working environment. We have
managed to get a hold of various examples and locations from across the
globe but are light on good continental European examples.

Dear Sir,

I am from India and collecting Data on Mobile Working & Tele Commuting.

I would appreciate if you help me by providing some relevant data.

Regards,

Andrew

Teleworking\home working

I have just read my way through three of your articles that I found on the
webb, How the trade unions are responding, An introduction to working from
home and Equipping a home office. I am at present researching as many
aspects as possible on home working and its implications and found your
articles very useful and would like to know if there is anything else you
could recommend for me to read?

Dear Andrew

Congratulations on a very helpful website.

I am hoping you may be able to point me towards other useful
publications and databases on the subject of teleworking and
productivity? I am currently completing an MBA full time at Westminster
and have chose to research teleworking and whether it increases
productivity.

With regards and thanks in advance

I am looking to find work which I can do from home via my pc. I resigned from Nat West 18 months ago as I have two small boys. During this time I have developed Customer Service, Computer and Clerical skills and feel sure there must be some sort of work I can do from home! Please could you help me in the right direction.

Dear Mr Bibby,

I stumbled across your page whilst looking for something else completely,
such is the way of the internet!

I am trying to find out information about becoming a proof reader, in
particular working from home as I am about to have a baby. Being a man of
your profession, you may be able to give some direction!

If you could spare the time to give me any contacts that you may have I would
really appreciate it.

The best way to explore Andrew Bibby’s writings is to spend a little time on the website.

What’s offered below is one possible short tour. Click on the hypertext links as indicated.

2 What are the advantages and disadvantages of teleworking from home? Browse through the lengthy extract from Home is Where the Office is for an honest appraisal of the issues to consider.

3 And who is teleworking? Find out how best-selling children’s author Jane Simmons teleworks successfully - afloat in an old fishing boat.

4 If you’re starting off teleworking from home, it’s easy to overlook the importance of appropriate equipment. Look at these suggestions for equipping a home-office.

5 Anglo-French company Telergos uses both home workers and office based staff to undertake remote word-processing in northern England. Read the story of one SME’s exploitation of the technology.

8 Even further away, public bodies in Australia were anticipating traffic chaos during the Sydney Olympic games by exploring the possibilities of telework in New South Wales.

11 Call centres have also been a major new development in many European countries. One British firm, the emergency service for motorists the AA, is experimenting in using for home-based workers instead of call centre staff. Read: Breakdown calls handled at home: how the AA is using teleworking.

12 Changing forms of work mean new challenges for trade unions. For a comprehensive review of the issues, have a browse through the report Teleworking and Trade Union Strategy.

15 When you’ve finished exploring, return to Andrew Bibby’s home telework page. There’s a facility here to send your comments or questions direct to Andrew Bibby by email.

Technical note

Andrew Bibby’s telework home page is located at www.andrewbibby.com/telework and links can be follows from here to other pages mentioned. The website was established in 1995 before domain names had become widely established, using the services of the UK internet service provider Eclipse. For this reason, the full URLs of each page continue to follow the form: www.eclipse.co.uk/pens/bibby/xxxxx.html. Andrew Bibby’s own domain was set up in 1999.

Permission is granted to copy this submission, and to make the information in it publicly available.

Submission for category 5, Best contribution to public awareness