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Working from home - The statistics

Introduction

A generation ago, the concept of working from home did not really exist. In fact, the distinction between home and work was clear and it was very rare for the two to meet. Often, the most that would happen would be perhaps bringing home some figures to work on ahead of an important meeting.

Work values have shifted in recent years. The amount of time that employees are expected to spend in the office, and the pressure that they put on themselves to work longer hours, means that most people find themselves devoting an ever-larger proportion of their waking hours to their job. Most people will have found themselves working in the evenings or at weekends at some point in their careers, and more people are finding that they see working longer hours as the fastest and most effective route to impressing their superiors.

This leads to a couple of different conclusions. Some people take this change in work culture as a signal to change how they are approaching their life. Many use this as the push they needed to go forward and start their own business. Otherwise, people begin to feel rightly guilty about the time they are spending away from their family for the sake of work, and find a solution to allow them to see the family and continue to work long hours.

Both of these reasons have contributed, with other factors, to a huge rise in the number of home offices and businesses that count their place of residence as their place of work.

How many people work at home?

There are two main groups: those who run their business entirely from their home, and people who split their time between their home and their office. These two groups are of course do not take into account the number of people who use an office at home to do a couple of hours extra work in the evening or at weekends, or people who just want to be able to manage their family accounts in the most efficient way possible.

Statistics suggest that more than 5.5 million people in the UK use their home as their primary place of work. This amounts to some 19 per cent of the available UK workforce, and covers not only those who run a business from their home but also people who spend much of their time traveling and use their home as a base for the days when they are not on the road. This figure is a rise of 13 per cent in less than a decade.

In more detail, there are now more than 2.1 million home-based businesses in the UK, and more than 1,400 new companies are started from home each week, according to home business expert Emma Jones who runs a website advising people on how to run their business successfully from home. She estimates that home-based business is worth £364 billion in turnover to the economy of the UK.

Why work from home?

There are a host of reasons why working from home makes sense to such a large proportion of the population, but for many people there is one simple fact that sits above all others. With today’s modern technology, connectivity and business practices, it is now perfectly possible to run a business from a relatively modest home office without anyone knowing that the proprietor has travelled no more than a few yards to get to the office.

The speed at which technology develops is somewhat frightening to most people, but they adapt quickly and integrate the elements they need and will use into their daily lives. Five years ago, broadband internet access was at best the privilege of only a few of the wealthiest institutions and internet pioneers, now it is not only available to the majority of households, but the price of this kind of connection is now perfectly affordable for the average family.

That technology extends to mobile working, and as many commuters will know, the range of mobile computers is now so wide as to allow people access to the internet and emails wherever in the world they happen to be. Some would say this is not a good thing, but for someone who works from home, it can be invaluable.

On the less corporate side of things, many people see building an office at home as a good use of the space they have available to them. In many houses, and in particular in new-build properties, the smallest bedroom is impractical to use as it was originally intended. In this case, the choice is often between using the spare room as some kind of dressing room or wardrobe overspill; an extra storage space; or converting it to home office. This way at least, the accounts and family admin can be carried out somewhere that is tidy and designed for the purpose.

Another reason for the rise in businesses that are run from the home is that modern working culture, and the pressure to bring more money to the family, leads many women to go back into work after childbirth. While it can be difficult to find a way of combining motherhood and a career without the need for expensive childcare, working from home, in either a part of full time capacity, can often be a good solution.

Working culture allows much more flexibility for this kind of arrangement with careers now. Employers are now much more in tune with the need for them to look after the welfare of their staff outside of the office as well as just between nine and five. This means that many organizations are prepared to be flexible to allow women to re-assume parts of their jobs from home rather than go back to the office at the earliest opportunity.

This also means that other workers in organisations have access to the flexibility of working from home should they present a case to their employer to be able to do so. This new flexibility in working culture has often come directly from management level, as the senior management of many companies pioneered the idea of working one or two days a week from home as their family home is far enough away from the office to make extending their weekend a desirable option. As a result, they are able to see the value in allowing some of their employees to have the same opportunity. The fact that this culture has evolved as a top-down progression means that managers see the value in it and are more likely to maintain the privilege for their staff.

Legal issues

Many more employers now are open to considering employee requests to work from home, partly due to the spreading idea that a happy worker is a productive and loyal worker, and partly down to the fact that they are legally obliged to consider reasonable requests for flexible working in certain cases.

Not many people are aware of the fact that their employer is obliged to give proper consideration and due process to requests from anyone with children under the age of six, or disabled children under the age of 18. This is as a result of the Flexible Working Rights legislation introduced by the government in 2003, and provides for parents to suggest arrangements that will suit the needs of their family as well as fitting in with the business practices and their responsibilities as employees. In 2007, this was updated to include legislation to cater for the carers of adults to have the right to flexible working hours. At the same time, the government announced a review of the work-life balance laws that could see it extended to cover parents of older children as well. This review is expected to deliver its findings in late spring 2008.

Anyone wishing to apply for changes to their working hours or to have time to work at home should try to present the best case possible, and it would be a good idea to have already thought of everything to make sure it is as easy as possible for your employer to agree to the proposal you put forward.

In submitting an application in line with the constraints of the Flexible Working rights legislation, you are obliging your employer to not only give your proposal due consideration, but also to only refuse your request if there is a demonstrable business reason to do so.

For further details of the legislation, see our guide on how to work from home.

Conclusion

The potential to change your whole outlook on life by working form home is an option that attracts increasing numbers of people, and with the increased flexibility that companies allow their staff in this respect; it is an option that is open to more people in ‘traditional’ office-based roles than ever before.

The onward march of technology means that for employees who are normally office based, and for people who are starting their own business from their home, it is possible to appear to the outside world that you are working from a large office in a major city. This is an advantage particularly for the new business, as it means that modern technology allows a company just starting out to appear much bigger than it really is.

Home seems set to become the breeding ground for the next generation of small companies, and as finance options for entrepreneurs improve, there is likely to be a significant rise in the numbers of new businesses. These companies are able to set up for a far lower initial outlay than was previously the case. The options for entrepreneurs to start a business in this way have never been better.

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