Five in 10 UK businesses are using or plan to adopt increased homeworking permanently – but improving staff wellbeing is not the main motivator for doing so.
This is according to data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), which showed as of late July 2023, 21% of businesses reported that they were using, or intending to use, increased homeworking as a permanent business model.
While the move to homeworking across the country has remained broadly stable since late March 2023; reduced overheads were cited as the main reason for using this model among businesses surveyed at 51%, rather than improved staff wellbeing (47%).
Last week, Benefits Expert reported that more than one in three employers have reported a rise in the number of employees working from home this year.
The findings from the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) also showed that more than one in seven organisations had seen a significant increase in home working since 2022.
Acas, which surveyed 1,000-plus employers, believes the results are as expected given the current state of the economy.
Meanwhile, research by Wade Mcdonald revealed that most staff in non-managerial roles are denied flexible working options despite the passing of the Flexible Working Act.
The study found that just 13% of employees without management responsibilities are offered flexible arrangements, compared to one in four (35%) of directors.
The HR recruitment company’s figures showed that while flexibility was the most valued benefit for nearly nine in 10 (88%) of all staff, including managers, few have access to it at work.
