ALMOST A THIRD OF UK NOW WORKING FROM HOME

The number of people working from home remains high despite the end of Covid restrictions

ALMOST 10 million people are now working from home in the UK, with more than a third of workers in some regions now calling their house their office. Before the Covid-19 pandemic, an estimated 4.73 million people worked from home in the UK, according to the government’s Labour Force Survey.

That was just under 15% of the working population.

Lockdown brought about a workplace revolution though, with the number of people now working from home estimated to have been 9.89 million between January and March this year.

That works out at almost 31% of the country’s workforce.

The changes have, however, affected different parts of the country in different ways.

London has seen the largest increase in the number of people working from home.

Before the pandemic, an estimated 766,000 people worked from home in the capital.

That’s gone up by 1.14 million people, to 1.90 million this year, which makes up 37% of the workforce.

The South East has the same percentage of its workforce using their homes as their offices, an estimated 1.62 million people.

No other regions of the UK have as high a percentage of people working from home.

The East of England has 31% of people working from home (903,000 in total).

Wales (435,000 people), the South West (843,000 people) and Scotland (811,000) each have 30% of their workforce working from home, while for the East Midlands it’s 29% (648,000 people).

By contrast, only 16% of people in Northern Ireland are now working from home.

In the North East it’s 22%, and in Yorkshire and Humber it’s 26%.

But while some of the regions might not match the likes of London when it comes to the number of people working from home, they have seen larger relative increases .

Scotland has seen the largest percentage increase of any region in the UK, with the number of people working from home more than trebling from 267,000 people to 811,000 people.

The number of people working from home has more than doubled in Wales, going from 177,000 people before the pandemic to 435,000 people now..

Men are slightly more likely to be found working from home than women, with 31% of men doing it compared to 30% of women.

The type of work a person does has a large impact.

An estimated 43% of managers, directors and senior officials are now working from home.

For professional occupations it’s 43%.

For admin jobs it drops to 35%, skilled trade 25%, caring and leisure services 16%, sales and customer services is also 16%, while for process plant and machine operatives it’s 10%.

Speaking in May, Work Wise UK Chief Executive Phil Flaxton said: “Following the global pandemic, the landscape of how, when and where we work has changed dramatically and many employees will continue to balance work between their place of work and home, known as hybrid working.

“However, it is vital that the UK does not become a nation of those can and those who cannot work flexibly. National Work from Home Day provides an opportunity for employers to start conversations with their staff on new ways of working. Working people need a say on what works for them – and what doesn’t.

“These new approaches cannot be a ‘one size fits all.’ Employers, trade unions and the government must work together to ensure that those who cannot work remotely are not excluded from modern flexible working practices.”