UK plc needs to encourage better practices such as working from home, if it is not be at the mercy of China and India’s tiger economies.

That was the stark warning from BT chairman Sir Christopher Bland, speaking at the launch of Work Wise Week.

“We (BT) already have more than 11,500 home based workers, tens of thousands of nomadic workers and millions of customers who either already do, or soon will, work in this way,” Bland said.

He said the UK would be “left standing” if it didn’t change some of its cost structures.

As well as enabling its own workforce to work more flexibly, BT has a dedicated team called BT Work Style to help its customers manage both the cultural and technical issues associated with smarter working practices.

Work Wise UK is a three-year initiative set up by IT Forum Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation, which aims to encourage the widespread adoption of smarter working practices, such as flexible, mobile, remote and home working.