159,000 people in the North West worked from home last year, says TUC

Lynn Collins, Regional Secretary of the North West Trade Union Congress

159,000 employees in the North West regularly worked from home last year, according to new analysis published by the TUC today (Friday) to mark National Work from Home Day.

The analysis shows that one in 19 (5.3% of the region’s workforce) worked from home in 2017.

The analysis reveals that:

• Gender: four out of 10 homeworkers are women (41%). The gap with male workers has reduced somewhat since 2005 when women made up 35% of homeworkers.
• Age: The proportions of homeworkers increases with age, with 16-19 years olds least likely to home work (2%) and over 60s most likely (11%).
• Industry: Agriculture has the biggest share of employees (23%), followed by the information and communication sector, where nearly one in five works from home (18%). Accommodation and food services is the lowest (1%).
• Occupation: Managers are most likely to work from home (12%) followed by ‘Associate Professionals’ (9%) such as architects, engineers and designers. In contrast, the lowest rate of homeworking is ‘Elementary Occupations’ (2%) such as cleaners, unskilled manufacturing labourers and street vendors.

TUC Regional Secretary Lynn Collins said: “Lots of people would like to work from home but have not been given the chance by their boss. That’s a shame, because it can benefit employers as well as workers.

“Homeworking can improve productivity and it can stop the loss of experienced staff when they need more flexibility for family responsibilities. It has wider benefits too, like less traffic and pollution, more accessible work for disabled people, and keeping premises costs down.

“Many bosses already recognise that homeworking can make staff happier and more effective. But other employers need to catch up. Trade unions can help negotiate home working policies that work positively for both employers and staff.

“The government can help by investing in broadband infrastructure so that every worker can get a high-speed connection at home. And we encourage businesses and public services to include homeworking in job design and recruitment.”

Chief Executive of Work Wise UK, the organiser of National Work from Home Day, Phil Flaxton said: “During the past decade there has been a substantial increase in 21st century employers who have embraced modern, smarter working practices, such as homeworking, to the benefit of their organisation and its employees. However, it is clear than even more employers need to follow their example by introducing new ways of working that reflect the changing world of work.”

“Organisations that do not embrace these modern working practices and discuss with employees how and where they work, may find it detrimental to productivity and staff retention levels.”

“For an increasing number of the UK’s working population the world of work has changed and it no longer confined to commuting to a place of work five days a week.”