WOKING is poised to benefit from an expected increase in remote working from the coronavirus lockdown, says a local author.

Gren Gale, who lives in Brookwood, has recently published his third book, Remote Work – The New Normal, in which he forecasts that there will be a permanent increase in home working as a result of the COVID-19 epidemic.

Gren says that places such as Woking will become a popular location for remote workers who can enjoy more space, a better quality of life and still have easy access to London for work and entertainment.

Gren, who has worked in IT and project management, said many companies have been reluctant to allow remote working because of a worry about productivity and the ability to communicate quickly with staff.

“Many had been dipping their toes in remote working, but the pandemic has forced many more people to do it and it has been shown to work.”

He said resistance to remote working has considerably diminished and modern technology makes the whole process easier and more effective.

“Accommodation in big cities is usually pricey and so tight for space that it doesn’t rate as the ideal home-working environment.

“However, once people know that they can reliably work from home they should be able to locate themselves in more spacious and more pleasant accommodation out of town.

“Woking, with its excellent rail links to London and beautiful surrounding countryside, is a perfect location.”

Gren’s first book was about project management for small and medium-sized businesses and he followed this with one about managing projects remotely after taking part in meetings with people around the world from his Brookwood home.

For the full story, see the 2 July edition of the News & Mail