The workplace of the future?

Serviced offices giant Regus is aiming to lead the way in providing alternative workplaces for people who don't hold the traditional 9-5 office-based job.
Flexible approaches to work have led to over 1 million people teleworking in the UK. However, according to a study by Regus, people who work from home are missing out. It claims that the pressures of working alone from home can damage work and affect teleworkers' health, even though it offers the freedom of flexibility.

Dr Stephen Palmer, director of the Centre for Stress Management said: "Lack of social interaction is one of the biggest problems for teleworkers. People get a boost from working around others and having their successes recognised."

In an effort to combat this, but still offer a flexible working environment, Regus is pioneering one of the UK's first teleworking business centres. The new centre, due to be completed in nine months' time, is based in Cambourne and will enable around 3000 homes to use today's technology, linking up telephone and data lines.

Regus believes that these centres will allow people to work locally and ‘commute' to head office using state-of-the-art data and visual links such as the internet and videoconferencing.

Regus director Clive Hammond said: "Our centre is tailored to the needs of teleworkers, enabling them to combine the successful elements of office and home, be it a place to meet or a professional business address. I myself work from a satellite office close to my home in Bristol, a benefit which has a huge impact on the quality of my life."

Julie Crisp