Working hours lost to snow revealed |
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| Economy | |
| Written by Gary Howes | |
| Wednesday, 13 January 2010 | |
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A figure of the cost of snow to British business has been revealed. It has been revealed that as much as 124 million working hours were lost last week as a result of the snow that hit Britain. This according to new research commissioned by Citrix GoToMyPC - ironically a company that stands to gain a great deal as more businesses turn to remote working solutions for snowed in staff.The survey of over 2,000 adults, carried out by YouGov, finds 74% of British workers were affected by snow, with 45% facing travel disruptions. Another issue brought on by snow relates to closed schools. 11% of workers had to postpone or cancel business meetings due to closed schools. Encouragingly despite the difficult conditions, 48% of workers felt under pressure to get to work and maintain ‘business as usual’, 11% couldn’t get in to work but worked from home, while 12% were not able to work at all. The week beginning Monday 4th January also caused much frustration among workers. When asked about the most annoying aspects of snow and winter weather in general the lack of grit on roads was by far the biggest issue, cited by 71% of people. 60% are concerned about higher energy bills, while 40% said disruption to travel plans and 34% are fed up with defrosting the car. People in the South East were most affected by the weather conditions, with 78% of respondents from this region saying they were impacted. In contrast, other regions were not as affected: West Midlands (54%); and Scotland 61%. When it came to working, people in the North West felt under most pressure to make it into the office (58%) compared to just 43% in the West Midlands and 44% in Yorkshire. Andrew Millard, Director of eCommerce, EMEA for Citrix Online’s GoToMyPC, said: “The weather seen in the first week of 2010 had a catastrophic effect on employees and businesses throughout the country, with millions of pounds lost and productivity severely hindered. In severe weather, being equipped with a virtual office that provides a ‘just like being there experience’ is the best insurance for businesses. Having collaboration and remote access tools is not only the ultimate ‘quality of work’ improvement, but the cornerstone of an effective business continuity plan that mitigates the devastating impact of lost productivity.” The effect severe winter weather can have on business paints a sobering picture, especially for small and midsized businesses. However, Citrix Online’s tools enable people to work with anyone from anywhere — be it an airport, coffee shop, or their own home. With remote access and web conferencing products like GoToMyPC and GoToMeeting, plus a laptop or home computer, workers can easily and securely access their office desktop, including programs, files, and email, and meet with colleagues and business contacts. _____ Citrix GoToMyPC say that all figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 2002 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 8th and 10th January 2010 relating to the period Monday 4th January up to 6pm on Friday 8th January. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB adults (aged 18+).
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