Using Technology to Achieve a Work-Life Balance - Communications

Voice over Internet Protocol, how it works (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The previous instalment of this article looked at how the two concepts of VPN and BYOD can be used to improve the work-life balance of employees by providing connected computing and so this second instalment continues the theme with the focus instead on internet based communication channels.

VoIP
VoIP is an acronym which stands for the term Voice over Internet Protocol. In other words, it represents the technologies in which voice data, typically telephone calls, is transferred over the internet. With recent advances in VoIP technology, it is able to almost seamlessly take the place of traditional fixed phone lines and offer many other benefits in addition. As it does replace more and more PSTN (public switched telephone network - the traditional mostly analog network) lines in both our homes and workplaces, often the only way to distinguish whether you are using VoIP vs. PSTN is by the extra functionality that comes with it. Much of this functionality concerns integration, into unified communications packages (see below), and flexibility, both of which allow workers to make more efficient use of their working hours and reduce the work creep into their personal lives.

VoIP packages can vary but the functionality on offer can typically include the ability to make and receive phone calls free of a fixed location or device, as long as an internet connection is available. The user may be able to use differing interfaces to handle calls, depending on the device in question - for example, a web interface and a headset on a desktop computer vs. a mobile phone vs. a digital handset - but the end result will be unaffected as far as the person on the other end of the line is concerned. The consequences for employees is that they are able to work outside of the office (at home for example) to make better use of their time and still be as accessible on the end of the phone as they would normally be on site; often on the same number . Commutes can be negated when needs be and flexible working arrangements can be embraced far more easily.

Video Conferencing
As with VoIP, the benefits of video conferencing, in terms of achieving a better work life balance are all about providing effective but flexible communication possibilities free of location dependencies. The term, sometimes referred to as video chat or video calling, describes scenarios and technologies in which users can talk face to face using video streams over the internet - essentially like VoIP with added video. Many organisations have meeting rooms with video conferencing facilities to allow communication between office locations without the need for travel but the technology is also used in portable devices and desktop computers to provide the means for visual communication on the move. It is possible, for example, to join a meeting in the office using a smartphone when on the train, using video conferencing.

The technology, therefore, allows workers to communicate using all of the visual cues that make face-to-face contact so effective without travelling long distances, or, when more beneficial, from alternative locations such as home. Combined in a unified communications package (see below), it can even facilitate collaboration on work with colleagues as though they were in the same office despite being stationed in disparate locations. All of this reduced travel and location independence does of course mean more time at home as fewer demands on time spilling outside of work hours.

Unified Communications
Bringing all of these together to offer joined up communications channels, is unified communications (UC). This is a very dynamic area of tech but the ultimate goal is that individuals are able to communicate seamlessly, switching between different methods/channels such as voice calls, video calls, email and instant messaging (IM) or SMS, across varying devices and platforms, without the conversation dropping at any stage. UC can use the concept of an integrated inbox where more traditional emails sit alongside IMs and even voicemail messages, managed with unified contact lists. The concept is being adopted at enterprise level with solutions such as Microsoft Lync but it also creeping into our day-to-day lives with developments such as Google Hangouts. The latter brings together our personal conversations across mobile and desktop devices using instant messaging, email and video calling and provides another example of how high technology is permeating our personal lives and in turn increasing the expectation and perceived possibilities of its use in the workplace.

UC is attractive to enterprise because offers businesses efficiencies in terms of the speed and effectiveness of communications alongside reduced travel costs. However, UC adoption in the workplace can also improve both the motivation - due to the effectiveness of the work employees carry out using the technology - and the working hours of employees so that their jobs take less of a toll on their personal lives and ultimately their happiness.

To find out more about the uses of unified communications including VoIP and video conferencing in the workplace you can check out what’s on offer from an enterprise level provider of unified communications.

The Government’s Adoption Map for the UK

Children of the United Kingdom's Children's Migrant Programme (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The UK government recently released a map of the country’s local authorities, colour coded to indicate the number of children in each authority that are eligible for, and in need of, adoption. The map demonstrates the areas of the country that are therefore struggling to recruit enough adoptive parents to meet demand and the government hopes that this will encourage more to come forward. Consequently it is perhaps an opportune time to take a quick look at what adoption in the UK actually entails and why the government deems it necessary to take this course of action.

What is Adoption?
As mentioned, these latest developments concern the number of children that are in need of adoption. This means children that are in need of parents who will be required to assume full parental rights over them and to take this responsibility on as a lifetime commitment. A child who is adopted becomes a fully integrated and permanent member of that family and in the eyes of the law hold the same status, rights and protection as a child would by birth. Indeed, at the point a child is adopted, the birth/original parents relinquish their parental relationship and effectively cease to be the child’s parents in any legal context.

The concept of adoption is notably distinct from that of fostering where a foster parent cares for a child who is need of a secure home on a temporary basis. Although children may be in foster care for varying periods of time, the intention with fostering is always to return the child to their parent’s home as soon as possible, if possible. The birth/original parent remains the child’s legal parent and the foster parent becomes a temporary guardian.

Barriers to Adoption
The permanency of adoption introduces a number of factors which affect the ability to find suitable adoptive parents with which to place children. The fact that the prospective adopters must be willing themselves to make this lifetime commitment, and take on both the financial and emotional challenges that that brings, will limit the number of parents coming forward to adopt in the first place. Importantly, however, the stakes are also increased in regard to the welfare of the child, which is the ultimate concern with adoption. As a consequence there is a need for greater emphasis to be placed on making sure the parents and children are suitable matches and will subsequently be happy as a family. This is, of course, a concern in any scenario when placing a child with carers, but has even greater importance with adoption. It is the job of adoption agencies to ensure that the adoptive parents have come to terms with the commitment and that the child will be happy and secure with suitable parents for the rest of their lives.

With the higher stakes, there is a risk that the processes involved in qualifying for adoption and then placing individual children can be exhaustive and create too many administrative, practical and emotional obstacles; dissuading parents from entering the process, and preventing children from exiting care and finding settled families.

Upcoming Changes
As the government’s new map helps to demonstrate, there are currently more children waiting to be adopted than prospective adopters and so the challenge facing the government and agencies is to appeal to more parents/families to come forward, to enter the process, whilst ensuring that the necessary safeguards are in place to protect both the child and the adopters wellbeing.

To this end the government are looking towards a few initiatives to raise the profile of the adoption issues in the UK and make the process easier for parents to enter the pool of prospective adopters. The map is one stage in this. Parents can now see the scale of the shortfall in adoptive families in their local area by seeing the number of children who are eligible for adoption but still awaiting a suitable family. Hopefully, this may encourage those who may have been under an illusion that the chances of being successful in their applications was remote because of the competition they may have faced.

The map however is part of a wider initiative which also involves a new adoption hotline funded by the Department for Education but run by charities and staffed by people with first hand experience of the adoption process. The hotline aims to make it easier for prospective adoptive parents to access the information they need as well as to navigate their way through their applications. In addition, the government is planning to launch a new website, “Gateway for Adoption” later in the year which will aim to be just that and put parents into contact with the relevant agencies as they embark on their adoption journeys.

For those looking for legal advice in regard to the adoption process and other childcare related matters you can click here.

The Value of Saving for Your Child’s Future in Hard Times?

There is a currently a wealth of information and research being released regarding the cost of living and in particular the cost of raising children. It is therefore an opportune time to look at what the latest pieces of research tell us not only about the costs of bringing up children but the value in investing in their future. Almost everybody is feeling the pinch but is it too easy to forget about the longer term?

The latest edition of the Cost of a Child: From cradle to college 2012 report by Liverpool Victoria and the Centre for Economics and Business Research from January 2012 estimates that the average cost of raising a child has shot up once more (by 3.3%), now reaching £218,000 across the period until the child reaches 21. What’s more, with incomes stagnating or even dropping, the ability of parents to afford these rising costs is not keeping pace. Indeed the same research also indicates that 76% of parents are being forced to make cuts in their spending and perhaps more worryingly, 43% of parents are actually reducing the amount they put into savings accounts.

This may not be new news to most parents but it does seem to be focusing their minds on the affordability of childcare in the here and now rather than necessarily thinking about the future.

However, the research also indicates that the steepest rise in the cost of bringing up a child is incurred when funding the child through higher education and that the rise isn’t so severe in the earlier years. It may hint at a suggestion that parents should try to put money to one side in these early stages to fund their child’s first adult years and there are further reasons why saving for this time is worthwhile.

Housing
House prices are currently stagnating, demonstrating that they are seemingly unlikely to fall drastically even when times are tough. It would appear that there is some positive news in the market for first time buyers (FTBs) in that there are now more houses available which theoretically fit into the affordable bracket (less than 4x the average income of the area) than at any time in the last eight years. Although, more worryingly for the future that doesn’t translate into buyers being able to afford these in practice as mortgage lenders are requiring higher deposits and so buyers are prevented from moving into the market as easily as they once did.

In fact the picture for first time and non-first time buyers reflects this. Depending on the research, the average age at which FTBs enter the market now is somewhere between 30 and 38 whilst being predicted by some to reach 40 before the decade is out. Research from Halifax puts the number of FTBs in the market at a record low and Scotland for example, according to the BoS has the lowest number of FTBs in the market since 1976; despite the paradoxical finding that the average price in 77% of local authorities is now classed as affordable in comparison with the average wage.

Education
Research just out from the Association of Graduate Recruiters shows that graduate salaries are on the rise despite the difficulties seen by the job market. The average wage for a graduate is anticipated to rise to £26k, a 4% rise on the previous year whilst the number of opportunities available to graduates is actually dropping. The evidence therefore seems to point towards a more competitive graduate job market where jobs may be harder to come by but one in which the salaries will be more rewarding for those who are successful. The trend may be indicative of a flight to quality in a period where employers are ensuring that they get the best returns on their personnel investments and does suggest that even, or perhaps more so, in a struggling economy, having an academic background may give your child a head start. Saving for your child during their upbringing can ensure that they are better placed to support themselves throughout their higher education and get the qualifications they need (even putting to one side the issue of tuition fees which may be best repaid later on in life).

In conclusion, the latest research when taken in unison paints a picture in which families are unfortunately being squeezed from all sides; being forced to cut back on outgoings in the present but requiring the investment in their child’s future more and more. This will lead to many families needing to make some very difficult decisions but it is crucial that as much as is possible, they keep the long term in their thoughts and don’t simply focus on the present.