Research commissioned by LogicaCMG PLC shows a majority of European managers and employees in favour of mobile computing, with France being the notable exception.
The study, conducted by Coleman Parkes Research Ltd., revealed that 96 per cent of employees interviewed at large enterprises in France, Germany, the Netherlands and the U.K. consider mobile office systems and services as a positive way to improve job flexibility, LogicaCMG said Thursday in a statement.
In the U.K., 85 per cent of surveyed employees said that the ability to work anywhere was the greatest benefit of mobile technology, compared to 83 per cent of the German respondents and 65 per cent of those in the Netherlands, LogicaCMG said. But only 44 per cent of French employees share the same view.
“One of the big benefits of mobile computing is being able to use dead time, and another is being able to work flexibly between the office and home,” said Paul Barker, director of m-business at LogicaCMG. “This is the general picture we gathered from the research.”
By comparison, French employees don’t see the ability to work anywhere as a benefit of mobile working, according to the research. Neither do they see the need to use dead time while on the move, the study said.
French employees are less likely to use mobile computing than other Europeans, according to the study. Employees in France spend on average only 10 hours per week using mobile technology, compared to 14 hours by their German counterparts, it said.
“There is definitely some social concern, not only in France, about the boundaries dissolving between home and work,” Barker said. “It’s really important to have human resource people work closely with employees on this front.”
According to the study, 82 per cent of senior managers agree that mobile working offers excellent benefits to their companies, while 70 per cent agree they need to establish clear guidelines for using mobile technology to ensure success