Blog
2012-04-18 08:49:24
NEW YORK—Earth Day activities aren’t reserved for a single day at many companies. Ingersoll Rand is asking employees to participate in Earth Day activities from April 16-27. Part of that participation includes working from virtual offices.
With employees on six continents, Ingersoll Rand has scads of Earth Day activities planned, from planting trees to promoting responsible consumption to focusing on alternative transportation and beyond. But one of the most interesting initiatives from a virtual office lover’s perspective is the work-at-home event.
Ingersoll Rand employees in Carmel, Indiana will participate in what the company is calling a work-at-home-Wednesday event. The goal of the event is to demonstrate that telecommuting options can reduce the company’s carbon footprint.
This is not a new concept. Telework Week just wrapped up in March and proved that working from a virtual office makes a major, positive impact on the environment. What’s more, O2 recently completed a flexible work experiment
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2012-04-17 10:26:28
NEW YORK—Earth Day is right around the corner, so I thought we’d start looking at all things green as it relates to the workplace. I found an interesting study from TheLadders that reveals job seekers go for the green when choosing a new job—and they weren’t talking about money.
When all other things are equal, 72 percent of candidates would choose the more eco-friendly company compared to 10 percent who said they would not. Another 18 percent said it wouldn’t influence their decisions. That means the overwhelming majority of job seekers appreciate green-minded companies. Virtual offices can help companies put their green foot forward.
“Our research provides a critical wake-up call to employers who do not consider eco-conscious efforts to be best practice,” says Alex Douzet, COO and co-founder of TheLadders. Once again, virtual offices are an eco-friendly practice. Virtual offices help reduce a company’s carbon footprint, help reduce energy costs and
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2012-04-16 09:42:41
TORONTO—Work and home lives are “blending” for many Canadian workers. So says a new study from Randstad.
Essentially, this revelation falls in line with a concept known as workshifting. The virtual office is an enabler of this growing workplace trend—and it can also help guard workers from the potential dangers of this blended life.
Indeed, many Canadian workers feel the line between work and home is becoming increasingly blurred. This is a running theme in many of the 29 nations Randstad surveyed. It seems the overlap between work and private time in Canada is substantial. Consider the statistics:
46% handle private matters during working hours
51% handle work-related matters in private time
44% receive work-related calls or e-mails when on holiday
53% receive call/e-mails outside of office hours
44% receive calls/emails on holiday
29% are expected to be available 24/7
43% feel they fall short if not responding immediately
46% handle private matters during working hours
“Technology has redefined the traditional
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2012-04-13 13:00:17
NEW YORK—If you want to make the most of a virtual office set up, you need the right virtual office technologies. That was one of the lessons O2 learned in its flexible working experiment in February. O2 sent 12,000 workers home to get their jobs done from virtual offices in what is to date the biggest-ever flexible working experiment.
O2 had to make sure its network was able to support a huge increase in the number of virtual office workers. O2 upgraded its Virtual Private Network (VPN) technology ahead of time, as well, as its network infrastructure.
O2 reports instant messaging usage was up 40.8 percent over a normal working day. A total of 146,876 IMs were sent over the course of the day, peaking at 17,843 IMs an hour at 3 p.m. Hosted online meetings increased by 29 percent, with 406 meetings organized compared to 313 on a normal day. What’s
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2012-04-12 12:02:29
LOS ANGELES—In yesterday’s blog, we looked at some of the results from the biggest flexible working initiative ever. To review, London-based wireless carrier O2 asked 12,000 employees to work from virtual offices one day in February.
On Wednesday, we looked at how this alternative workplace strategy, even though temporary, saved time and increased productivity. But the results of the flexible working initiative also include a sustainability story. Let’s take a look at how alternative workplace strategies can help the environment:
12% reduction in electricity consumption
53% decrease in water usage
12.2 tons of CO2 emissions were saved
Perhaps inevitably, the sustainability issue around flexible working is more complicated than it might at first appear. Paradoxically, for example, gas usage in the building increased slightly, probably due to the loss of body heat in the building.
Virtual offices are green offices. That’s really the bottom line. If O2 didn’t have such a large building, gas usage in
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2012-04-11 12:01:25
ATLANTA—It was the biggest flexible working initiative ever—and the results are in. London-based wireless carrier O2 on Feb. 8 asked its entire workforce to work from virtual offices. That sent 12,000 employees off to work remotely for a day and essentially shut down its 200,000 square foot office building.
The results: O2 employees saved 2,000 hours of commuting time. Here is the break down of how telecommuting from a virtual office saved time, boosted productivity and promoted work-life balance among the participants:
52% of saved commuting time was spent working
14% was spent on family time
16% on extra sleeping
12% on relaxation
6% on commuting elsewhere
88% of people that took part in the flexible working pilot thought that they were at least as productive as normal
36% claimed to have been more productive
“Line managers are used to managing people they can see. Managing them remotely is a completely different thing,” says Ben Dowd, business director for
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2012-04-10 16:40:07
SALT LAKE CITY, UT—If you can carry a tune, would you mind singing this verse? “Happy Birthday, Dear Davinci Virtual Office Solutions…” That’s right, it’s our sixth birthday and we’re going strong with virtual offices the world over.
Not to toot our own horn, but we have accomplished a lot on the virtual office front in the past six years. Today, we are the bona fide leader in global virtual office solutions. We are proud to celebrate six years of profitable growth serving our clients all over the world.
“We were thrilled to celebrate six years of innovation, growth and success. Davinci Virtual Office Solutions has met every milestone it has set out to achieve while creating a new way to work for businesses,” says Bill Grodnik, CEO of Davinci Virtual. “We are so proud of our staff and partners and we very excited about our continued profitable growth.”
Just have far have
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2012-04-09 20:59:32
LOS ANGELES—Distractions, damaged reputations, sexual harassment accusations. You can’t altogether avoid these potential scenarios in a virtual office world—but you can likely cut down on them.
Think about it. Where there is less face-to-face, in-person contact there is less opportunity for physical relationships. That’s an important factor considering Millennials don’t shy away from workplace relationships, according to a Workplace Options and Public Policy Polling survey.
The poll reveals that 71 percent of employed Millennials—workers aged 18-29—see a workplace romance as having positive effects such as improved performance and morale. Noteworthy is the fact that only 10 percent of older worker shared that sentiment. Could it be wisdom speaking from experience?
Poll results indicate that, as a group, the Millennial generation is more open to dating their supervisors than all other age groups combined. Forty percent of Millennials said they would date their supervisor, compared to 12 percent of older respondents. Again, could that
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2012-04-06 16:34:46
ATLANTA—Real estate strategies are becoming part of business strategy—so where do virtual offices fit into the mix? CoreNet Global’s 2012 State of the Industry Report offers some insights into corporate real estate in a redefined world.
Emerging work strategies are changing the workplace. For example, space per person already averages 100 square feet or less in Europe. Data show the same will be case for 40 percent of companies in North America by the year 2017. What’s more, companies are using less office and work space, but they are making it more inviting, open, progressive and collaborative.
Another interesting insight is that 40 percent of employees believe the traditional office provides better tools and technology. That may be a perception issue, especially in the light of cloud computing. Virtual office technologies are making it seamless to work remotely, many times even from a mobile phone, without skipping a beat.
Of course, the CoreNet
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2012-04-05 14:10:42
BOULDER, CO—Graduation is right around the corner. So what’s a college grad who is looking for a little flexibility in their first job to do? What virtual office job options are there?
Plenty, according to the latest FlexJobs’ Flexible Index Report. Jobs aimed at candidates starting a new career jumped 90 percent in the latest index. That’s good news for would-be virtual office users.
“The large boost in open jobs at the entry level bodes well for upcoming grads,” says Sara Sutton Fell, CEO of FlexJobs. “As Forbes recently reported that Gen Y wants flexibility, this is good timing for those ready to enter the work force.”
Some of the virtual office jobs that saw the largest increases in March include:
1. Data Entry (51% increase)
2. Customer Service (17% increase)
3. Administration (16% increase)
4. Medical and Health (14% increase)
According to FlexJobs, medical and health continues to dominate as the career field with the most available
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