Homeworkers worked nearly twice as many unpaid overtime hours as those who never worked from home, says ONS Business News

People who worked from home in 2020 worked around six unpaid overtime hours per week on average, nearly double the number of unpaid overtime hours worked by those who never worked from home, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

In its latest analysis of the UK homework situation, the ONS found that people who work from home to any degree consistently work longer hours than those who have never worked from home. .

In 2020, those working from home worked an average of 32.3 hours per week, compared to an average of 27.7 hours per week worked by people working outside the home.

According to the ONS, unpaid overtime was highest for those who recently worked from home between 2011 and 2019.

But in 2020, the hours worked by each group working from home converged to around six hours, while the number of unpaid overtime hours worked by those who never worked from home remained largely unchanged at 3.6 hours. per week on average.

Employees working from home also took fewer sick days, equivalent to just two days per worker in 2020. By comparison, those who never worked from home took the equivalent of 4.3 sick days. per worker.

The sickness absence rate, which is the percentage of work hours lost due to illness, declined among those who worked predominantly from home. The ONS said this could be attributed to working from home resulting in less exposure to germs and therefore minimizing some of the usual sickness absences.

In contrast, the sickness absence rate among people who reported that they only sometimes worked from home rose to 2.7%, equivalent to 5.1 days lost per worker in 2020.

Before the coronavirus pandemic hit in 2020, the ONS had said there was a “wage penalty” for people who worked primarily from home. Homeworkers were paid an average of 6.8 percent less than those who never worked from home.

But that gap has narrowed over time as working from home becomes a more widely accepted form of flexible working.

When the nationwide lockdown was announced and working from home became compulsory for a large number of employees, those who worked primarily from home were paid 9.2% on average than those who never worked from home due to the ability to continue working despite the lockout restrictions.

Employees in higher-paying jobs are also more likely to be able to work from home, according to previous studies, which led to an increase in the average salary of those who worked primarily from home.

The ONS has also found ‘substantial variation’ in the degree of homeworking in different parts of the UK, with London and surrounding areas showing the highest rates of homeworking, while many parts of Scotland and the north have the weakest.

The regions with the lowest home work rates were Thurrock, Birmingham, Lincolnshire, Blackpool, South Ayrshire and parts of Northern Ireland.

The variation is largely due to the types of industries that predominate in different areas. In London, the higher proportion of financial and professional services industries contributed to higher rates of homeworkers.

“Our evidence suggests that the success of working from home varies enormously between those who worked primarily from home and those who mixed work from home and work outside,” the ONS said.

“This suggests that the flexibility of working from home in the future may be the key to its success.”