Member Article

Work Wise campaign kicks off

The campaign to improve working practices for North East people will be officially launched today. Work Wise North East aims to consign nine-to-five, five-days-a-week working to history and will promote smarter working practices, such as flexible working, mobile working, remote working and working from home. It is based on the national Work Wise UK initiative, a major five-year programme launched last May, which the North East is the first region to put into practice.

Phil Flaxton, chief executive of Work Wise UK said: “Our rigid work structure is dictated by culture. It wastes time and resources, damages the environment, causes stress and harms health, and is actually largely unnecessary considering the technology available today. “Wide adoption of smarter working practices is an obvious answer to four of the main issues facing our economy today, so obvious that it is being missed by many. The four issues are competitiveness, the environment, road congestion and quality of life.”

At the launch ceremony at Beamish Hall, delegates will hear case studies from the private and public sector and there will be an ‘Ask the Experts’ session where attendees can find out more about flexible working.

James Ramsbotham of the North East Chamber of Commerce (NECC) said: “Work Wise is not just about better staff practices; it is also about better business. “Work Wise is a way for businesses to take a lead in demonstrating what should be done to address the needs of 21st century business, and NECC will take a proactive lead in the bid to help many more businesses of all sizes to take up the Work Wise mantle.”

Alan Clarke, Chief Executive of One NorthEast, said: “If we can improve the productivity and profitability of regional companies, we’ll be well on the way to achieving our aim of being the number one business location of choice.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .