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Characteristics of homeworkers - ONS report

ended 13. February 2023

This morning at 09:30, the Office for National Statistics published a report entitled, Characteristics of homeworkers, Great Britain: September 2022 to January 2023. It showed:

  • Among working adults who have worked in the last seven days, 16% reported working from home only and 28% reported both working from home and travelling to work over the period September 2022 to January 2023.
  • Workers in the highest income band, those who were educated to degree level or above, and those in professional occupations were most likely to report home only or hybrid working.
  • Self-employed workers were twice as likely to work from home only (32%) compared with employees (14%).
  • London residents reported the highest levels of hybrid working across Great Britain, with 4 in 10 workers both working from home and travelling to work.

We asked recruiters, HR specialists and small business owners for their views (below).

7 responses from the Newspage community

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Debbie Porter
Managing Director at Destination Digital Marketing
I may be voicing an unpopular opinion here, but WFH doesn’t work for every business, including my own. We are a tiny digital marketing consultancy and we spend almost all our time online, making it a perfect candidate for WFH, right? As a small team we need to be tight-knit and that can only come from regular in-person interaction with each other, the kind you can’t achieve on Zoom. The office chatter that happens between doing work is what gels us as a team. Our occasional WFH days are great for getting stuff done, but our cohesiveness and productivity are kept intact by being with each other. WFH as a full-time option would never work for us.
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Lily Shippen
Managing Director at Lily Shippen
The pandemic undoubtedly changed employers' approach to homeworking, but it has taken time for employees and employers to find what works best, which is generally a blended style of working. More businesses are adopting 'anchor' days where staff need to be in on a particular day, and this can work well for productivity and staff morale. Those in senior positions tend to have more flexibility with days at home with junior positions typically allowing for 1-2 days at home. We surveyed 300 people in our 2023 Salary Survey and 30% work two days a week at home, with only 10% working full-time from home.
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Jill Cotton
Career Trends Expert at Glassdoor
The simple fact is workers want flexibility when it comes to how and when they work. And with the labour market still shrinking, employees have the power to demand a working pattern that works for them as individuals. Not every job can be done remotely, but the pandemic pivot to remote work will be a lasting feature of the UK workplace. Productivity isn’t determined by where a person is physically located but by how well companies set up their employees for success. Employers need to equally support those who work in-office, hybrid and remotely and create a work environment that prioritises trust. Companies will be rewarded with a loyal workforce, as Glassdoor research shows workers who discuss hybrid work rate their employer more favourably and begin fewer job applications than those who do not mention hybrid in their reviews.
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Mary Maguire
Managing Director at Astute Recruitment Ltd
"Sounds a great job, but is there any hybrid WFH?" This continues to be one of the most often asked questions by accountants looking for a new job. This is one Covid legacy that will linger for a long while yet.
Employers, where they can, are being flexible. They know this is often a key requirement for top candidates. Equally, there are growing signs of manufacturing and similar sector businesses that absolutely need key finance onsite most of the time. There are also a growing group of candidates who tell us that they would actually prefer the camaraderie of being with colleagues. The answer? Employers need to continue to show flexibility and empathy to their staff's needs, while employees need to recognise that it's a two-way street. Trust and a successful employee/employer relationship has to work both ways.
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Dr Marianne Trent
Clinical Psychologist at Good Thinking Psychology
I think homeworking over the past three years has evidenced that people can maintain their productivity in a way that is less damaging to their well-being than a traditional 5-day office-based working week. Working from home allows me to have a zero childcare budget, do a few personal training classes a week and meet my mum for lunch once a month, all while still being highly productive. I can't imagine ever wanting to turn back to being clinic-based again.
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Robert Bolohan
Co-Founder at Lotuly
I've been working from home for over eight years, but it's not for everyone. You save loads of money by not having an office and expensive rent in central London where everyone seems to want to be. But you have to be careful because if you are like me and struggle to switch off you'll never be able to separate work and day-to-day life. It's much easier to work a 9 to 5 in an office and come home and relax, but the truth is once you master having a work-life balance working from home is not just another trend it's the ultimate lifestyle. Working from home is more like working from anywhere. People crave travelling and enjoying their life. WFH is in high demand but only because people want to be happy. They don't want to be tied down to an office.
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Steve McSherry
Head of Sales at Daktela UK
We began homeworking ourselves many years ago as the technology we sell has always provided the ability to do this productively. We always championed homeworking but found most companies were put off due to concerns regarding health and safety obligations and technology issues. During the pandemic, these H&S concerns were trumped by real concerns about people's health and well-being. Companies began a major move to homeworking often without implementing the right technology. In 2022, we saw growth in the use of products such as ours as companies across all industries searched for the right technology to make homeworkers productive. We're also now seeing employees demand a hybrid option that allows them to work from both the home and office to allow them to keep in touch and socialise with colleagues, while reducing commute costs.