North-East campaign is picked up in USA

Dec 9 2006 By The Journal

Work Wise has been picked up by experts across the Atlantic.

Businesswoman Jeanette Watkins, the founder of People for a Shorter Workweek, spotted the campaign's launch article in The Journal on Monday on the internet in her home near Seattle, USA.

When Ms Watkins, 54, spotted the article, it struck a chord with her. She set up her own campaign group trying to encourage firms to scrap traditional office hours three years ago.

Now Ms Watkins, who works part-time in a grocery store in Mount Vernon, Washington, has sent The Journal article to colleagues and bosses to show how things are being done here.

She said: "When I read about the Work Wise initiative in The Journal, I thought it was a great idea, because here in America we don't have any laws governing how long you work.

"I am trying to encourage firms to let their employees work less than 40 hours a week and with three days off, including week-ends.

"It is so bad for your health to work long hours, and for your quality of life. "Things like road rage and stress-related illnesses are on the increase, and I'm sure this is a contributory factor."

In the North-East - the first place to pilot the programme - Work Wise will run for three years, with a target of changing the way people do their jobs.

Since 1999, Tyne and Wear has experienced the second largest level of growth in the UK at 1.8% - almost twice the national average of 1%.

Almost 50,000 workers, representing nearly 5% of the working population, are now based at or usually work from home. However, this is still below the 5.1% national rate.