Leader: Win some, lose some in cost-cutting game

SHOCK horror news for employers: one in five people deliberately powers up their mobile phones in the office to avoid rising electricity charges at home. A new survey finds that workers could be saving themselves £110 a year by charging up their phones, iPods, iPads and other gadgets at employers’ expense.

Shocking, isn’t it? Companies should surely clamp down on this abuse. But are they really the losers? What of the vast majority – four out of five – who charge their phones at home, usually in the evening, to be ready for work the next day? From this perspective, it’s the bosses who are enjoying the free ride – company business powered by electricity from staff homes. So perhaps the nerdy cost-cutter on the management floor should hold back on that angry group e-mail ordering a clampdown on “abuse”. Predictably, however, one company already has banned phone charging. Guess who? Ryanair.

The survey also finds employees are less rigorous about switching off lights and appliances in the office than at home. This does seem wasteful. But by keeping the lights on, loyal staff save their employers millions in accidents and all those health and safety infringements that could clog up the courts for ages. Isn’t life forever swings and roundabouts?