Even home workers should be prepared for Olympic disruption

As the UK gears up to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games next summer, today’s guest post is by conference call provider, PowWowNow, advising individuals to make the necessary plans to minimise disruption to their working lives.

There are events going on all around the country so, although London will get the worst of it, every major city will experience an increase in visitors. The games start with the Opening Ceremony on 27th July and run to the Closing Ceremony on 12th August however you need to remember that travel will be disrupted before that.

Then there is also the Paralympic Games to think about, running from 29th August to 9th September. There are 34 different venues being used to host the events, the majority of which are around the Olympic park and ExCel. Outside of London, sporting events will also be held as far afield as Cardiff, Manchester, Newcastle and Glasgow. So there are going to be travel disruptions across the country.

Communicating effectively from home is essential in ensuring that business runs as normal during the Olympics. The influx of tourists is predicted to hit large businesses the hardest, with increased traffic suspected to be the main cause of the disruptions. Individual employees and clients, though, will struggle to get to work and meetings on time, so it is vital to plan ahead. Perhaps you could cycle to wherever you need to be, or keep in contact using services like PowWowNow and avoid the busy streets altogether.

The Olympics and Paralympic Games are predicted to affect individuals as well as businesses all over the country, so it is necessary to make the preparations now. PowWowNow recently released statistics that suggested that the vast majority of workers in Britain haven’t made and don’t intend to make preparations for the Games.

The company CEO, Andrew Pearce, said: “Our findings point to the fact that even with less than ten months to go, a majority of businesses continue to be naive about the obvious disorder the Olympics will cause for companies all around the UK. Even though companies based in the Capital will face the brunt of the issues, companies nationwide will face challenges.”

For those of us working from home things might be a little easier but we need to remember that other people might be facing some disruption, so you should make sure that at least your life isn’t disrupted by organising your meetings well in advance, before or after the Games.

Photo: Aquatics centre from the London 2012 Press