by Jbs051409f3 — May 15, 2009—The International Facility Management Association (IFMA) has announced the release of Distributed Work: Research Report #31 , a comprehensive resource that details trends in both on- and off-site distributed work strategies and defines the common terms associated with these work settings. The new report features ten case studies that demonstrate how companies around the world–including AT&T, Bank of America, BP, Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft, and Sprint Nextel–are implementing their own distributed work programs.
Distributed work strategy is a catchall phrase for work that is spread among workers in variable locations and occurs at varying times, explains IFMA. Based on a survey of 951 built environment professionals, IFMA’s new report reveals some telling trends.
Sixty percent of facilities professionals responding to the survey report using unassigned workspace in their facilities, with 40 percent either dedicating or assigning all workspace.
Telecommuting was the most common off-site workplace strategy reported, with 56 percent of respondents noting its use within their organizations. Not surprisingly, facilities professionals cited employees under 30 years old as having the most interest in distributed workplace options, with 71 percent reporting a strong appeal to that age group.
As evidenced in the research report and its case studies, businesses adopt distributed work strategies for a variety of reasons, from increased productivity and saving on real estate costs to employee benefits and environmental sustainability. Case study researchers contacted leading organizations known for successfully implementing distributed work practices, selecting top-profile companies from a variety of industries.
In each case study, the researcher focused on how the company developed solutions that were linked to their overall business strategy. Researchers sought to capture the specific, measurable goals companies used when implementing new solutions and ways of measuring the success of these companies’ strategies.
