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Energy!<\/strong><\/p>\n It’s a big topic whether you\u2019re approaching it from the perspective of cost-savings, climate, or both. In the UK, owing to a massive energy price hike at the start of April, it\u2019s become a central contributing factor to our cost-of-living crisis. And with prices projected to soar again in October, it\u2019s a borderline scandal destined to haunt our headlines for the remainder of 2022.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n These pressures are happening at a time defined by a fundamental shift in the way we work. The \u2018Work From Home\u2019 boom may have ushered in a work\/life balance at hitherto unheard speed, but the benefits trailing its shockwave have left a vast imprint \u2013 and that includes energy usage.<\/span><\/p>\n At Touch, we know remote working. We\u2019ve been doing it for a long time. Remote working has become an excellent opportunity for companies to cut costs and emissions, with fewer to zero office hours and the abandonment of the traditional work commute. We believe it\u2019s crucial that the benefits to business from this shift don\u2019t become a burden on our employees. They should reap the benefits too. To strive for this, we have set three main goals.<\/span><\/p>\n Naturally, this is par for the course for us – happy employees are essential to a healthy work environment and sustainable growth. But it\u2019s also the crucial first step in making decisions on energy. If you\u2019re not actively listening and engaging with your employees when setting goals to improve a business, you are missing the point. What if you\u2019re missing out on a wealth of knowledge and experience employees harbour outside their day job? So, first things first \u2013 listen!<\/span><\/p>\n At Touch, we have a well-established <\/span>Sustainability Committee<\/b> open to all employees, where we discuss and action important topics and challenges, including energy. Tapping into this wealth of knowledge, the committee members have compiled valuable tips and tricks they themselves use to save on energy. You\u2019ll find them at the end of this post.<\/span><\/p>\n Let\u2019s admit it \u2013 the fallout from deserted office premises, while a source of hankering after the \u2018old days\u2019 for some, has resulted in a marked decline in business energy costs and emissions. But reign in the celebratory procession \u2013 because that burden has inevitably now fallen on employees. They\u2019re now spending upwards of 40-50 extra hours a week at home, running energy-sapping equipment required to perform their job. That can add a substantial chunk to someone\u2019s household bills.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n So how to get around it? Well, short of returning the days of pens, paper, filing cabinets and snail mail, modern tools are a necessary burden. But there are other ways to help employees bear it. A key action of ours has been to pay every worker the annual non-taxable Working from Home Allowance.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n We pride ourselves on our mutual trust and freedom to self-govern our time at Touch. But that doesn’t mean leaving employees to fend entirely for themselves, it means equipping them with the tools and resources to make the <\/span>best <\/span><\/i>decisions. So, while the ultimate verdict on energy use will \u2013 and should \u2013 be made by those paying the bills, we see it as our responsibility to sift through the daunting amount of energy-saving information available and make it accessible in one place.<\/span><\/p>\n Over the next few months, Touch is planning to do that legwork; researching and distilling the valuable, actionable advice that will enable employees to make informed energy-saving choices at home – quickly and more easily.<\/span><\/p>\n These goals are a taste of all that we\u2019re doing to bolster our prized culture of support and collaboration. Long may they continue to generate a positive impact for which every team member can be proud.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Matilde Liegis \u2013 Project Manager:<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/i>\u201cInvesting in a Nest or Hive smart thermostat to reduce energy wastage in your home by giving a greater level of control over your heating system so you avoid using too much energy.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p><\/blockquote>\n <\/p>\n Kathy Day \u2013 Medical Director:<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cOnly heat the rooms you are using!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Lily Wiseman \u2013 Employee Experience:<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cFree 4-minute Shower Timer: According to the latest reports from the Energy Saving Trust: Cutting just a minute off our shower time could save \u00a315 in energy bills, and a further \u00a315 in water bills if water is metered, per person, per year \u2013 or \u00a3120 saved a year for an average four-person household.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Charis Coleman \u2013 Project Manager:<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cUse the eco setting on your dishwasher or boiler, the eco setting heats water more slowly, using less energy. You get the same results; it just takes a little longer.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p><\/blockquote>\n <\/p>\n Emma Lewis \u2013 Project Manager:<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cWhen it feels a bit chilly at home especially when I am WFH on my own, rather than putting the heating on or up I do some exercise to warm up!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p><\/blockquote>\n <\/p>\n Emma Foxon \u2013 Director of Product Strategy:<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cHeat pumps – we have one in the house we are using. They are brilliant and if you invest you will see the difference of heating your house after 2 years.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The \u2018Work From Home\u2019 boom may have ushered in a work\/life balance at hitherto unheard speed, but the benefits trailing its shockwave have left a vast imprint \u2013 and that includes energy usage.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":101775,"featured_media":3150,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.touchmedicalmedia.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3149"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.touchmedicalmedia.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.touchmedicalmedia.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.touchmedicalmedia.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/101775"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.touchmedicalmedia.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3149"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/www.touchmedicalmedia.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3149\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3174,"href":"https:\/\/www.touchmedicalmedia.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3149\/revisions\/3174"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.touchmedicalmedia.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3150"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.touchmedicalmedia.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3149"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.touchmedicalmedia.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3149"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.touchmedicalmedia.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3149"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Goal #1 \u2013 Listen to employees<\/span><\/h5>\n
Goal #2 \u2013 Take shared responsibility<\/span><\/h5>\n
Goal #3 \u2013 Equip employees to make their own decisions<\/span><\/h5>\n
Energy tips and tricks from the Touch team<\/span><\/h5>\n
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