Working from home is slashing AA employees' fuel consumption and commuting hours by 90,000 litres and 620,000 miles respectively each year says the breakdown organisation, as Workwise UK's “commute smart week" gets under way.
300 AA employees are permanently working from home in Newcastle, Leeds, Manchester, Birmingham and Cardiff following a trial ten years ago - saving a claimed 12.5 tonnes of CO2 per year.
The AA says that working from home leads to lower commuting costs, lower stress levels and added flexibility for those with childcare considerations for its employees.
The benefits to the organisation include increased productivity, savings on office space, easier recruiting, greater shift flexibility and increased employee loyalty.
The AA has also sent out 50 motorcycles and electric scooters to help with commuter breakdowns in busy cities. This move has helped the AA patrols to “commute" more easily but is also a big hit with broken down commuters who get their vehicles fixed more quickly.
Commenting, Edmund King, AA president said: “Our employees are saving valuable time and money by working from home. They tend to be less stressed as they don’t suffer the road rage of congestion and are more able to fit in the family commitments around their work.
“In transport terms home working cuts out the commute, reduces congestion and carbon emissions. Hopefully other companies will follow the AA lead to put more workers on the superhighway rather than the actual highway now that the technology is much more affordable.
“We also encourage call centre staff to car share and our patrols are doing their bit to reduce stress and emissions with skills gained from eco driver training. Our fifty AA motorbike patrols have also taken the stress out of city centre breakdowns as they can beat the traffic."
Phil Flaxton, chief executive of Work Wise UK, said: “Commute Smart Week aims to demonstrate the advantages of smarter commuting and working, and the initiatives taken by the AA are excellent examples. They demonstrate that both employer and employee benefit in terms of cost savings, reductions in stress, improving well being, and happier more productive staff.
“But it does not stop there; removing traffic from the roads and people from public transport eases congestion and overcrowding which makes commuting a more bearable experience for those that have no choice. The environment also benefits as traffic emissions are reduced not only from the cars that are now not being used, but from the traffic which is now flowing more freely."
Commute Smart Week runs from 26 Oct – 1 Nov. More information at www.workwiseuk.org.