Wi-Fi will bring more workers to South West
Research undertaken recently by a well known mobile phone company has indicated that the introduction of Wi-Fi technology is likely to have a dramatic impact on how and where we live and work.
Over 3,000 UK office workers were involved in the research, which estimated that after allowing for the basic costs of laptops, internet access and mobile phones, businesses could save up to £32bn by giving employees the option of more flexible working arrangements.
The allure of flexible working can also be measured by the fact that 42pc of the respondents who took part in the research would give up the luxury of a company car, 33pc would willingly forgo private healthcare and 16pc would happily accept a pay reduction of, on average, £6,900.
Major cities such as Leeds, Birmingham and Manchester might see as much as an 80pc decrease in residents as a result of many workers from less attractive locations wanting to move to more idyllic areas on the coasts or in the mountains.
So it’s no surprise that the South West could see a population increase of more than 150pc by 2015. This could bring significant economic benefits for the South West, although the knock on effect of increased property prices would bring further challenges for local people who already struggle to compete with affluent buyers looking for pretty second homes.
Although about 39pc of workers already enjoy some flexibility in terms of where they work to some extent, there is an increasing awareness that by working from home, it is possible to increase efficiency and productivity. Perhaps within a decade a forward-looking business may not know what a CEO is, have no HQ, and require a fraction of the fixed assets needed to operate a business today, including buildings and equipment.
