UK workers urged to avoid office for the day

National Work from Home day is here again this Thursday 15 May and silicon.com is aiming to repeat the success of last year's great working from home experiment.

The silicon.com editorial team will be banned from the office for the day to see exactly how well we can run things without setting foot in the office.

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This is the third time the initiative has been run by smarter working group Work Wise UK and kicks off Work Wise Week 2008.

Work Wise expects millions of workers to sample the benefits of working from home, such as avoiding crowded public transport, saving time and reducing stress.

Phil Flaxton, chief executive of Work Wise UK, said: "The benefits of working from home, even occasionally, are now widely accepted. Not only does it reduce the amount of commuting people have to do, enhancing their work/life balance, but many are actually more productive."

Nearly 3.5 million people already work from home in the UK - an increase of 600,000 since 1997. The highest proportion of home workers is in the South West with 15.7 per cent, followed by Eastern England with 14.4 per cent. The lowest is in the North East with 9.3 per cent, followed by Scotland with 9.4 per cent.

Last year silicon.com's editorial staff stayed away from the office, keeping in touch by mobile, instant messenger and email.

There were mixed results and several challenges along the way, so look out for our coverage to see whether these problems have been ironed out and how the team gets along this time.