Can VoIP reduce working hours lost to illness?

VoIP services may help to decrease the number of working hours that staff lose to sickness, as a new survey has suggested that many employees believe flexible working, which can be conducted using the technology, would reduce their time off sick.

In total, 50 per cent of workers say that flexible working could lower the amount of time they spend off work due to illness, while 70 per cent of managers claimed that working at home would lessen the number of hours lost as a result of ill-health, according to a new report.

The research was conducted by Ellipse and Dr Cary Cooper from Lancaster University, with Dr Cooper saying: "We should be trying to prevent long-term absence as much as possible and we can do that in a few ways. Firstly, by looking at ways of flexible working."

Recently, the Lancashire Evening Post reported that insurance firm Rowlands and Hames in Leyland has witnessed a rise in the number of people working from home, with many firms requesting insurance for their staff to operate remotely.