Home Workers Do It In Their Pyjamas

New research from BT among people who work from home - either regularly or now and again - has revealed their day to be a balanced and relatively stress-free lifestyle allowing them time to get their work done as well as taking breaks to keep fit, do the household chores or even a spot of gardening. Some are so relaxed they even work in their pyjamas - if that, in some cases.

According to MORI research commissioned by BT to coincide with European Telework Week, starting on 1st November 1999, 75 per cent agree that working from home is 'invaluable' in helping them strike a balance between their home and work lives. The research was conducted among people who own their company and work from or at home as well as people who work for a company from home, either occasionally - "committed professionals", or permanently.

The picture painted by the research is that of a markedly more relaxed existence away from the office. Whilst claiming to be more productive, Britain's home workers also use their breaks more effectively. Coffee and chats with colleagues are replaced for some by breaks to do the housework (58 per cent), 49 per cent do the shopping, 43 per cent even do a spot of gardening and (36 per cent) take exercise.

Furthermore, home workers claim to be more relaxed and take little or no time off work sick. Over three quarters (77 per cent) of respondents either never, or only 'once in a blue moon', take time off work due to sickness; and, two thirds (66 per cent) think that their stress levels are lower when working from home compared to working in an office. 41 per cent of the homeworker respondents claim never to suffer from work related stress and 36 per cent suffer only occasionally, a view perhaps prompted by their more relaxed attire. Only 15 per cent wear a suit, with the majority preferring casual clothes, although 19 per cent claim to have worked in their pyjamas and a staggering 5 per cent say they have worked wearing nothing at all.

The new research coincides with the start of European Telework Week (November 1-8, 1999). European Telework Week was launched in 1995 by DGXIII of the European Commission. According to the European Commission's New Methods of Work 1999 Status Report there are over nine million teleworkers in Europe, up from around 4.6 million in 1998 and two million in 1997.

The new research by BT discovered that homeworkers in the UK seem to be content with their work and lifestyle.

Although a third of the respondents work from home due to the nature of the job, an overwhelming majority (92 per cent) see working from home as an advantage. Only 8 per cent spontaneously complained about loneliness, a factor traditionally associated with working from home. Among the most popular reasons for working from home are the flexibility to determine their own working hours (21 per cent of respondents) and greater freedom (18 per cent of respondents).

The death of the traditional working day?

Only 17 per cent of respondents say they get the most done during the day while over a third (34 per cent) 'early birds' prefer to work early in the morning and 21 per cent of 'night owls' get the most done late at night which suggests the demise of what is regarded as the traditional working day.

However, a note of caution is also signalled by the research, as 30 per cent of those questioned say that they work more than 48 hours a week. This is higher among those who own their own business and work either mostly on the move (37 per cent) or mostly at home (33 per cent). Of those who work at home occasionally and are employed by another company, 24 per cent work more than 48 hours a week.

Avoiding the dreaded commute

Travelling to and from work appears to strike dread into the hearts of home workers with the majority of respondents (69 per cent) agreeing that commuting is a waste of valuable time and which they would rather spend working. The potential for time saving and increased productivity of this opinion is enforced by the fact that the UK workforce travels 78.5 billion miles to get to work, according to Telecommute 2000.

Homeworkers are also flexible as to where in the house they work. A third (37 per cent) have a dedicated office while the remainder spread themselves throughout the home with 18 per cent in the sitting room, 11 per cent 'wherever there is space' and only 10 per cent in the spare room.

Tim Sefton, Director of BT's Small Office Home Office markets, said:

"As we enter the next millennium, working from home is proving to be one of the greatest revolutions in the workplace. It appears that people would rather save the time spent commuting in order to work and strike a better work and lifestyle balance by choosing when they work. Whilst the affordability of technology was once at the heart of a decision to work from home, increasingly it's a lifestyle choice, as our findings bear out."

BT currently has 3,500 flexible workers who work from home as the result of an internal programme, which has been formalised into a new home working initiative, called Options 2000. The number of BT home workers is increasing every year - there are currently an estimated 24,000 employees who have the facility to work from home. Initial response to Options 2000 has been very positive - over 3,000 people registered in the first 60 days of the new programme. BT also has a specialist unit which advises larger companies on establishing schemes to allow their employees to work from home.

Neil McLocklin, head of BT's specialist unit, the Workstyle Consultancy Group, says:

"Successful homeworking depends on a combination of factors: a job which is suitable for flexible working, the technology necessary to get the job done and the desire of the individual - it's not right for everyone. But it's not just about working from home - that's just one option. It's simply using technology to work as effectively away from the office as in it."

BT is also a sponsor at Flexible World, the UK European Telework Week two day conference in London. It will be held on 3-4 November at the Kings Cross Holiday Inn and includes a discussion on changing work patterns for the Information Age.

Some Facts and Figures about Flexible Working

• In 1999 there are over 9 million teleworkers throughout Europe compared to 4.6 million in 1998 and 2 million in 1997
• The UK has the largest proportion of telework take-up of Europe's five major economies - over 2 million people, 7.6% of the workforce
• 10% of the UK population is forecast to be teleworkers by 2004
• The UK has the highest penetration of Internet use in the major economies
• The term 'telehubbies' has been created following the discovery that male teleworkers outnumber females
  Source: New Methods of Work 1999, European Commission
• The UK workforce travels 78.5 billion miles to get to work and a further 43.8 billion miles whilst on business
  Source: Telecommute 2000
• Managers surveyed by the National Economic Research Association (NERA) for its Motors or Modems study expect a 400 per cent increase in teleworking in 10 years' time.
• According to a report by Origin, the cost of providing an office-based desk is about 1636,000 per annum, although it is used, on average, for less than 40 per cent of working hours.

Technical details

The research was conducted by MORI On-Line in October 1999. 369 telephone interviews were conducted from a national sample drawn from two sources; one database of people who own their own business and work from home and the second, using people who had indicated in previous research that they worked from home regularly.