Press & PR

Darker days and earlier nights this winter should prompt more bosses to start up home working schemes, it has been suggested.

Non-profit campaign group Work Wise advised that lives could be saved by getting people off the roads at peak commuter times in darker conditions by supporting home working.

Backing up its call for action, Work Wise highlighted official figures for road deaths during the winter months, which found that 12 per cent more car users were either killed or seriously injured in the winter last year and 20 per cent more pedestrians were killed.

These statistics could be reduced by removing the need to travel to work through home working schemes, it was suggested.

Work Wise chief executive Paul Flaxton said: "Workers here already have the second longest average daily commute in Europe: in many cases adding an entire working day each week.

"Add to this the misery, tension and delays of traffic congestion and overcrowding on trains, tubes and buses, and now the prospect of travelling to and from work in the dark for many months: it is no surprise that many succumb to depression and despondency."

Using VoIP services is a key part of home working as they can allow employees access to the office phone system when they out of the building.

And by using the Vonagephone adaptor or V-Phone, these workers could link up their computer to the net and make free calls from anywhere with an internet connection.