Increased attention for telework

[Henny van Egmond]

In the Netherlands there is a increased attention for telework. There are a lot of congresses, symposia and all kind of gatherings around the subject. Traffic jams and environmental issues seems the main reason for the increased attention.
I am interested if in other countries the same increase is noticed and what the main drivers are.
Tx
Henny

[Wendy Spinks]

There is a huge amount of policy interest in Japan, mainly triggered by the e-Japan Strategy announced around 2005 by our ex- ex- Prime Minister, requiring 20% of the total work force to be teleworking by 2010. Since most mainstream Japanese firms have been reluctant to try telework, this target looks unmeetable. Hence the flurry of action on the part of the bureaucrats. The main driver is work/life balance, especially as a child-care solution.
Wendy

[Jasper Lim]

Great Start!

I can share with you insights from a very different perspective from my native homeland - Singapore.
Traffic and environmental issues do not seem to be major challenges there. The main driver according to the government and employers are work-family balance. They have a Tripartite Strategy for this - "so-call" work-life strategy. It was set up back in 2000 sponsored by the Ministry of Manpower. Since then, the employer alliance (www.employeralliance.sg) was set up to drive this strategy along with other employee & employer associations. The model seem to be working very well. Government is stimulating recognition for companies who adopt family-friendly practices through the media, given the importance of face-value in Asian societies.

More info here:
http://www.mom.gov.sg/publish/momportal/en/communities/workplace_st...

[Diana Limburg]

I haven't noticed any increased interest in the UK lately, but I may be missing something. We've had legislation introduced on 'work-life balance' here a few years ago - a key feature of which was that parents of young children were entitled to ask for flexible working arrangements, including teleworking. Employers have to come up with sound business reasons if they want to refuse this. At the time of the introduction of these rules there was a bit of an increase in attention to teleworking, but nothing major I would say.
Diana

[Henny van Egmond]

Funny enough, in all your comments it the work-life balance seems to be the main driver. In the Netherlands it is more about traffic jam, productivity and being attractive as a company on the labor market. It is remarkable that there are many, many publications on the subject in newspapers, magazines and other media. If I accept all the invitation I can speak several times a week about new ways of working on symposia but also in companies.