Flexitime rollouts could tax IT managers

Helpdesks and IT managers are likely to face increased demands from homeworkers

Helpdesks and IT managers could be in the frontline of infrastructure rollouts if business support for flexible working hours increases significantly over the coming years, according to remote access vendor Citrix.

This month several leading businesses and organisations, including the CBI and TUC, signed an agreement sponsored by the Work Wise initiative to promote flexible working practices. Citrix UK and Ireland managing director Richard Jackson said such initiatives will put pressure on IT managers to build the necessary infrastructure to enable staff to work more flexibly. "Businesses need to build infrastructures that support people working away from the office. Simply providing remote email access will not bring the productivity gains smarter working promises, and won’t win the support of staff. People need secure access to their applications and data to be able to do their job, and IT needs to be given the budgets to implement this," Jackson said.

According to a report out last week from the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC), 52 percent of men and 48 percent of women say they want to work more flexibly.

EOC chair Jenny Watson said that current UK work practices are not working for many people any longer, with the result that too many workers burn out, trade down or drop out altogether. "Failing to rethink the way we've traditionally organised work is a chronic waste of talent and investment in education, at a time when Britain needs to invest heavily in skills to maintain its competitiveness globally", added Watson.