Fall in number of East Midlands employees working from home

The number of employees in the East Midlands who usually work from home decreased by 1,000 last year, according to new analysis published by the TUC.
Less people are worked from home in the East Midlands last yearLess people are worked from home in the East Midlands last year
Less people are worked from home in the East Midlands last year

The analysis shows that 115,000 employees in the East Midlands worked from home in 2016 - down 0.86 per cent.

This goes against the national trend which saw an overall increase of 7.7 per cent of employees working from home in the last 12 months.

The analysis reveals that women have seen the biggest rise with the number of women working from home up by 10.5 per cent over the past year.

However, men still account for the majority of home workers, with 966,000 regularly working from home in 2016, compared to 673,000 women.

Older employees are more likely to work from home with one in 13 works in 40s and 50s now working from home.

By contrast, just one in 36 workers (168,000) in their 20s regularly work from home.

Lee Barron, TUC regional secretary for the East Midlands, said: “Home working is a great option for some workers, especially those with disabilities.

“Businesses should seriously look at the benefits it can bring.

“Allowing employees to work from home can be good for holding on to talented staff and boosting productivity.

“But home working shouldn’t be viewed as way of cutting costs.

“It should always be a real choice for the workers who want it.”

Phil Flaxton, chief executive of Work Wise UK, the organisers of National Work From Home Day, added: “An increasing number of employers and employees are realising that work is an activity we do, rather than a place we go to.

“Attitudes are changing on how we balance or mix work and lifestyle.

Increasing mobility and technology is shifting the acceptance or need for traditional work patterns, to be replaced by a more flexible approach to working from home.”

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