Homeworking in UK more than doubles since 2019

In a roundup of the latest data and analysis on the UK economy, business and jobs, the ONS confirms that remote and hybrid working has increased everywhere, but regional differences remain in terms of the extent and type of the increase.

The Office for National Statistics released new data this week showing that the percentage of UK workers who worked from home increased by 108.8% between the last calendar quarter of 2019 and the first calendar quarter of 2022. The total number of homeworkers increased from 4.4 million to 9.9 million.

Correspondingly, the number of non-homeworkers (defined by the ONS as those who live and non-homework in the same region) and regional commuters (those who live in one region but work in another) in the UK decreased by 19.7% - or 5.5 million.

The number of homeworkers increased by more than 50% in all UK regions.

This update provides further evidence that the shift to remote working brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic is going to remain part of our working patterns. Hybrid working may be causing some challenges for businesses, altering local labour markets and patterns of consumption but it looks as if it's likely to remain the norm for many millions of workers.

However, not every worker wants to work from home. Remote working tends to be less popular with younger people who enjoy learning from more experienced colleagues and also with organisations who have their roots in a more traditional space.

Paul Clark, Senior Vice President EMEA at Poly commented:

"While homeworkers are increasing, organisations must not forget that a large number are returning to the office. For instance, the younger generation that enjoy the social aspect and the more traditional workers that prefer the office set-up. If organisations want to make hybrid ‘work' they need to have a fresh look at the office - 77% of organisations are redesigning their offices to add more open plan areas, collaboration spaces and areas to socialise. Nearly a third (30%) are planning to reduce the number of desks. Ultimately, employers must meet the needs of all their employees and provide a flexible work environment where people have the tools and spaces they need to stay productive. This will give organisations the best chance of success in a competitive market. The ones that don't will see their talent walking out the door and risk being put out of business."

Regional Variation

The headline figures from the ONS cover some interesting regional variations in data. Whilst the number of homeworkers increased by more than 50% in all regions, the largest occurred in Scotland which saw a 203.5% increase. The smallest increase was recorded in Northern Ireland at 56.4%.

The regions with the highest percentage of homeworkers in the first quarter of 2022 were London (37%), the South East (36.9%) and East of England (31.1%). The lowest were Northern Ireland (16.4%), the North East (22.4%) and Yorkshire and The Humber (26.2%.)

It seems intuitive that workers in regions other than London or the South East have stopped or reduced their commuting to those centres. London saw the biggest drop in commuter numbers (down 36.8%) with the South East (down 29.1%) and East Midlands (down 21.2%) recording smaller but still significant decreases.

However, the movement within regions also decreased in every region but more so in London than anywhere else. London recorded a decrease in this movement of 28.2%.

London also recorded the largest decrease in the number of non-homeworkers who live and work in the same region and commuters between regions. In London this number reduced by 30.1% which represented a drop of 1.4 million workers. The next largest decreases occurred in the South East (21.8%) Scotland ( 21.2%) and the North West (20.2%.)

Even those workers who are based mainly in offices or other workplaces are more likely to work the odd day from home if they are based in London. In London, 24.3% of non-homeworkers worked at least one day from home during the reference week. The next most likely to do so were workers in Northern Ireland where 16.9% had worked at least one day at home. In the South East 15.6% had done so.