Recessionary pressures are expediting the adoption of alternative workplace strategies in the workplace. This was a major finding in a benchmarking study released by New Ways of Working (New WOW), a member organisation focused on alternative workplace solutions.

Impacts of the RecessionBased on a global survey of 103 organisations including Fortune 100 companies, New WOW's research reveals how leading organisations are employing alternative workplace strategies to keep their edge in a challenging economic climate.

The study, now in its second year, reports types of alternative workplaces and work options used, status and length of programme, business drivers, provisioning, barriers, change management, values, benefits, and recessionary impacts.

Alternative Workplace (AW) is the combination of nontraditional work practices, settings, and locations that supplement or replace traditional offices.

AW practices include mobile work inside and outside the office, hoteling, work from home (telecommuting), and work from third party places, among others.

In the past two years, AW adoption has accelerated. More than four in every ten companies report starting their AW programme within the past two years.

Not surprisingly, the recession has pressured companies to reduce overhead expenses, such as travel and real estate, and encourages worker mobility and other remote work options.

When asked to assess the lasting impacts of the recession, companies reported increased remote collaboration, implementation of mobile-enabling technologies, reduced business travel and the replacement of assigned one-to-one workplaces with AW.

Obstacles remain for the wider use of AW. Similar to last year, the top three barriers are organisational: organisational culture (entitlement, trust), management concerns, and resistance and fear of change.

Compared to 2008, the primary business drivers of Alternative Workplaces have shifted toward cost savings and away from employee-centric issues such as work/life balance and attraction/retention. Though many employers are leveraging alternative workplace options, increased employee mobility continues to leave workspaces underutilised.