London — May 14

Powwownow, a U.K. conference call provider, announced a 30 percent increase in its teleconferencing use from the year prior, suggesting that remote working is on the rise.

In recent years, the revolution in technology has made it possible for businesses to adopt remote working options, offering greater flexibility and empowering professionals to work beyond the office. There is huge support for flexible working in the U.K.

Flexible working initiatives include "Work Wise Week," the aim of which is to promote modern "smarter" working practices such as flexible, remote and mobile working, as well as working from home. Now in its seventh year, it’s organized by Work Wise U.K., a nonprofit organization whose strategic partners include the TUC, CBI, RAC Foundation and the British Chamber of Commerce.

The CBI/Harvey Nash employment trends survey 2011 supports Powwownow's statistics. The survey found that flexible working is now a standard feature of the modern workplace, with 96 percent of employers offering at least one form of flexible working.

The survey also found that there has been a rapid expansion in recent years in the use of teleworking, with 59 percent of employers using this form of flexible working, a 46 percent increase from 2008.

Source: Powwownow