Older workers more likely to work from home - study

The study was published by the TUC to mark Work Wise UK's seventh annual National Work From Home Day on May 18th. 

It shows that that 19.7% of workers over the age of 55 work from home - the biggest share of any age group. There were 803,000 home workers aged 55 and over in 2011 compared to 590,000 in 2001, according to the TUC’s analysis of the Office of National Statistics recent Labour Force Survey. 

The biggest total number of home workers is in the 45 to 54 age bracket (1.05 million) with just 8.6% of workers aged under 35 working from home.

The TUC also backed recent Live/Work Network analysis showing an increase in home working, which it says has increased by a quarter over the past decade. It also reported that around one in five employees who are never able to work from home say they would like to do so.

Commenting on the findings, Work Wise chief executive Phil Laxton said: 'As the employment market emerges from the downward trend, the way in which people work will have changed significantly. Increasingly, It is becoming the norm for employees to work away from the office, with 'presenteeism' becoming a thing of the past. Managers habits and controls must change in order to maintain this momentum.'

See full findings.