Flexible arrangement

Seven out of ten workers want the choice of more flexible working hours according to a recent government survey. The poll carried out by recruitment website reed.co.uk with the Department of Trade and Industry's Work-Life Balance campaign was aimed to raise awarness about the new family friendly employment rights, which start on 6 April.

The report however reveals that almost half of the 4813 respondents chose flexible working as the benefit they would most look for in their next job – over and above other popular incentives such as gym membership, or a company car.

While a lot of employers, particularly those in the private sector, realise that creating a better work-life balance for their employees makes sound business sense, the introduction of flexible working hours may well require buildings to operate for longer periods.

The impact of longer occupany hours can have an insidious effect on a building's energy usage. "It can be a case of the tail wagging the dog," says Dr Robert Cohen, principal energy consultant with ESD. "If one person comes in at six o'clock in the morning it means the building must be up and running by then." And if one or two staff are working late, it could be that a whole floor of lighting is left on for several hours more than necessary if everyone works nine-to-five.

Flexible working hours aren't only attractive to employees. Xerox UK estimates that over the last five years it has saved around £1 million pounds through enhanced staff retention due to the introduction of better work-life practices. And this is probably the crux of the problem: staff costs can be up to one hundred times higher than energy costs and easily outweigh any additional running cost. Who minds about a few late-burning lights, if your staff are happy and productive? But for those concerned with energy use, the length of time a building is occupied determines just how much flexibility should be built into the design. "The subject of flexible working hours is rarely considered at the briefing and design stages." says Cohen. "You need a flexible building to respond to this."

The installation of prescence detectors for controlling lighting and auto switch off for pcs are some of the steps which can be taken by companies.

Ventilation and fans are another big energy user. Recent research on the life cycle costs of ventilation systems has shown that occupany is a significant factor in the design choice. A system designed for a typical 8 am to 6 pm working day is not suitable for 24/7 operation and vice versa.

But at some point the two converge, highlighting the need to consider the building's current and future occupany hours to ensure that the appropriate solution is selected.

It is ironic that at a time when government has finally recognised the need to cut energy use in buildings, it is also pushing for a policy which can only increase it.

The new European Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPD) is a factor which may make some companies think twice before running plant 24/7, but again we return to the issue of energy which is so cheap that even a large increase in use, causes only the smallest glitch on the bottom line for most organisations.