New data shows that working from home is on the rise with 40 per cent taking the opportunity at least once a week and 1 in 10 now working from home full time*.
In fact, the practice is becoming so popular that a quarter (26 per cent) of Brits surveyed stated they would not accept a job if it did not allow them the option of working from home.
The positives of working from home are clear, with over half of those surveyed (59 per cent) saying they are more productive when they choose to work from home and 46 per cent stating they actually prefer to work from home.
When asked to list what they felt the most important benefits of working from home were, those surveyed stated time saved commuting (30 per cent), a better work life balance (22 per cent), higher productivity (14 per cent), reduced stress (11 per cent), and money saved from no longer commuting in to work (nine per cent).
A small proportion also highlighted their reduced carbon footprint as a bonus. The average person in the UK would reduce their CO2 emissions by 988 kg, equivalent to the volume of CO2 absorbed by forty-four fully grown trees in a year.
Despite the benefits almost half (47per cent) of employees state their workplace doesn’t have an official policy on working from home. And perhaps because of this Brits do have some concerns about converting to working from home. A third (33 per cent) admit they like to work from home but only part time, 15 per cent are concerned about colleagues judging them for being out of the office, and 11 per cent worry they are less likely to be considered for promotions.
Louise Goodman, Marketing Director at Monster.co.uk, comments,
Working from home is a growing trend in the UK – however some businesses have been slow to adapt. For anyone who thinks they would work well outside of the office environment, and would like to save a little time on the side, you are well within your rights to ask your employer for the opportunity to work from home.
At Monster, we ran a few ‘what if’ scenarios looking into the other positive impacts that increased working from home could bring. It turns out beyond potentially improving work life balance, we could see less crowded trains, substantial savings and significantly reduced CO2 emissions. All very good reasons to consider a switch.
*from jobs site, Monster.co.uk
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Aphrodite is a creative writer and editor specialising in publishing and communications. She is passionate about undertaking projects in diverse sectors. She has written and edited copy for media as varied as social enterprise, art, fashion and education. She is at her most happy owning a project from its very conception, focusing on the client and project research in the first instance, and working closely with CEOs and Directors throughout the consultation process. Much of her work has focused on rebranding; messaging and tone of voice is one of her expertise, as is a distinctively unique writing style in my most of her creative projects. Her work is always driven by the versatility of language to galvanise image and to change perception, as it is by inspiring and being inspired by the wondrous diversity of people with whom paths she crosses cross!
Aphrodite has had a variety of high profile industry clients as a freelancer, and previously worked for a number of years as an Editor and Journalist for Prospects.ac.uk.
Aphrodite is also a professional painter.
Working remotely is a core part of many organisations’ flexible working initiatives. We are in a time where the strict corporate 9 – 5 Monday to Friday routine being chained to the desk wearing a suit with socks to match are a thing of the past. Prioritising, working, operating, chatting, collaborating, conducting, scheduling, self-motivating, and communicating can now be done in the comfort of your own home or dare I say, even a deserted beach anywhere across the globe.
With the flexibility to work remotely, I ask myself though, does this have a positive or a negative impact ?
When the organisation Fundera conducted a survey, they discovered that two-thirds of managers who offer telecommuting flexibility report that employees who work from home are overall more productive. The statistics that 82% of those surveyed reported lower stress levels too, it almost seems too good to be true!
However, after the course of a few short years, telecommuting has lost its clear distinction between home and work. Flexible hours can suddenly turn those concentrated tasks at hand from the workplace to blurry lines when completing them from a variety of locations. 10am starts here and 8pm finishes there, with hours thrown in at home can leave one feeling as though home/work life separation has become a little muddied.
If you have a family, it is important to let them know when you are working and therefore unavailable, but clearly, there is a difficulty in disconnecting the working headspace from the creature comforts, so we need to ensure that work/life balance is clear.
We also need to consider the impact on colleagues with other roles. Some employees may find it difficult to work efficiently without supervision, compressed work weeks may mean client availability suffers, team meetings need to be booked in advance rather than just gathered up on the day, and feelings of unfairness when only certain employees have work that can be done more remotely than others.