Just under half (47%) of employees’ workplaces do not have an official policy on working from home, according to research by job listing website Monster.co.uk.
Its survey of 5,500 employees also found that 15% are concerned about colleagues judging them for being out of the office, while 11% worry that they are less likely to be considered for promotions if they work from home. Linked to this, a third (33%) admitted that they like working from home, but only on a part-time basis.
Two-fifths (40%) of respondents work from home at least once a week, and a further quarter (26%) stated that they would not accept a job if it did not allow them the opportunity to work from home.
Almost three-fifths (59%) of employees believe they are more productive when they work from home, with 46% saying they prefer this to being in their place of work.
Three in 10 (30%) agreed that time saved on commuting is the most important benefit of home working, while 22% said working from home improves their work-life balance and 14% stated that it bolsters their productivity. More than one in 10 (11%) agreed that the most important benefit of working from home is stress reduction, while 9% value the money saved by not commuting.
Louise Goodman, marketing director at Monster.co.uk, said: “Working from home is a growing trend in the UK, however some businesses have been slow to adapt. For anyone who thinks they would work well outside of the office environment, and would like to save a little time on the side, [they] are well within [their] rights to ask [their] employer for the opportunity to work from home.
“At Monster.co.uk, we ran a few ‘what if’ scenarios looking into the other positive impacts that increased working from home could bring. It turns out, beyond potentially improving work-life balance, we could see less crowded trains, substantial savings and significantly reduced CO2 emissions. All very good reasons to consider a switch.”