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ZDNet / News / Business
Recession boosts working from home in the UK
Summary
More than half of U.K. employees are working from home more frequently in order to save money.
Topics
british telecommunications, financial, spain, avaya, recession, networking company, italy, benefit, france
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Increasing numbers of recession-hit Brits are choosing to work from home in order to save cash, a new report has found.
More than half (55 percent) of employees are working from home more frequently since the financial crisis began, according to research commissioned by BT Business. And the vast majority (88 percent) said their main reason for doing so is the need to save money.
The most widely cited financial saving associated with WFH is not having to get dolled up and 'look the part' for the office--cited by 83 percent of survey respondents. Almost a third of respondents reckon they can save around 250 pounds (US$381) per year by not buying smart work clothes.
However cutting down on commuting by regularly working from home has the potential to save even more cash--with almost half of respondents claiming they can make savings of between 10 pounds (US$15.26) and 20 pounds (US$30.5) per day by not travelling to their workplace. Other significant savings associated come from not having to buy lunch, lattes and expensive snacks from the vending machine.
Nearly two-thirds (60 percent) of respondents believe they are generally financially better off because they have the flexibility to WFH, the survey found.
But fatter wallets are not the only benefit of flexible working: home workers get the luxury of more time too as they roll out of bed and plonk themselves down at their desk.
According to research commissioned by networking company Avaya, Europeans spend around a fortnight sitting in traffic or crammed under someone's armpit on a rush-hour train.
The poll of more than 3,500 employees in France, Germany, Italy, Russia, Spain and the United Kingdom found the average commute time is 70 minutes per day, using 1.7 modes of transport. The most common mode of transport is the car--used by 60 percent of respondents for getting to work.
However the research also found the majority (66 percent) of workers are able to work a proportion of each week flexibly--and their work/life balance is most likely to benefit as a result.
Asked how they use the time saved by not commuting, the largest proportion (56 percent) said they spent time with their family; followed by 45 percent who just 'relax'; and 42 percent who do tasks or attend appointments they otherwise wouldn't have time for.
A healthy quarter said they use the time for exercise and an over-keen fifth (21 percent) do more work. Nineteen percent take on the school run.
Even so, the vast majority of European workers have to do a traditional commute sometimes--just 9 percent never have to commute.
This Friday is not-for-profit organization Work Wise UK's 'National Work From Home Day'--part of its Work Wise Week to raise awareness of the benefits of smarter working practices.
Natasha Lomas of Silicon.com reported from London.
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