Homeworking 'doubled in six years' - HR managers

Home working has doubled over the last six years, according to a heavyweight new report on flexible working.

The new report, produced by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, says that 20% of members it surveyed said they regularly work from home. This represents a big jump on the 10% of employees who reported such arrangements in 2006.

It also hows that big companies are far more likely to sanction home working than small firms.  Nearly two-thirds (61%) of large employers allow homeworking on a regular basis, compared with just 36% of small employers.

The same survey shows that staff with no managerial responsibility are much less likely to take advantage of home working than the managers that they report to.

Just 14% of workers with no managerial responsibility regularly work from home. By contrast, the figures for board directors (30%), senior managers below board level (42%) and middle managers (26%) are all higher. The CIPD survey also showed a significant uptake of mobile working (14%).

The report’s publication coincided with the government’s pledge in the Queen’s Speech to introduce legislation to facilitate flexible working. 

View Flexible working provision and uptake.