More of us than ever before are working from home. The ongoing popularity of hybrid working means more employees have been given the option to work away from the office for at least part of the week. And although the number of people working from home dropped by 7% between 2021 and 2022, remote workers still account for 30% of the UK workforce.
But if you had to choose one day to work from home, which would you choose?
Did you know that if you work from home, you may be able to claim tax breaks on certain bills and expenses?
We’ve been banging the work from home drum for years now, but even we can see that it’s not for everyone – at least not full time. Since the pandemic kicked off, many workplaces have adopted a hybrid model where possible – that’s when employees work a couple of days at home and spend a couple in the office.
But if you’re having to work at home all the time, there’s a chance that you could be getting tired of being stuck in the same spare room and sick of staying at home all day. If this sounds like you, here’s how to beat work from home burnout.
If you run your own business, you’ll appreciate the need to save money and cut costs wherever possible – but have you ever considered flexible working as a way to cut overheads?
Maybe you were forced into remote working during the numerous lockdowns of the last couple of years and found it saved your business some much needed cash when things were tight?
Employees may even have found a better work/life balance and bank balance through working from home.
If none of this sounds familiar, then it might be time to reconsider your thoughts on remote working. Not only do the UK’s flexible working laws mean more and more workers can benefit from working from home, offering the option could be the difference between hiring and retaining the best people and having a high turnover of staff.
And before you get into a blind panic about employees not pulling their weight while at home, consider that research from the London School of Economics found those who are offered flexible working are actually happier and more productive workers. Then consider the savings you could make…
The distractions come thick and fast when you’re working from home – daytime TV, housework, knocks at the door, and cold callers on the phone all do their best to break your concentration.
And then the cat seems to need feeding every five minutes – while there’s no doubting having a pet around the place can help alleviate the loneliness that can come with working from home, they’re not always great for productivity, but they’re nothing compared to having a baby around the house while you’re trying to work – so, if you’re a work from home parent, is it time you considered taking on a nanny?
We’ve all been living with some sort of pandemic-induced restrictions for the best part of two years now. One of the positives to come out of it all (depending upon your situation and conditions) was how work from home culture was quickly adopted.
Many businesses now offer work from home – or at least hybrid working – as standard. But the guidance on whether we all need to work from home or get back to the office is about to change. Here’s all you need to know.
Employees are being told to work from home wherever possible as part of the government’s ‘Plan B’ to tackle the Omicron variant of Covid-19 – a new strain that’s thought to be the most transmissible yet.
The coronavirus pandemic has seen more people than ever working from home, and many businesses now use a ‘hybrid’ working system, where employees spend some time at home and some at the office. By the start of December this year, more than two-thirds of staff travelled to work at least once.
More than a third (36%) of British staff did some form of remote working in 2020, according to the Office for National Statistics. And it’s a way working that has caused some strong debate – some have even suggested home workers should be paid less than those that travel into the office.
The truth is, working from home isn’t for everyone. But, if done correctly, it can be a great way of working and keeping a healthy work/life balance. To make sure you’re making the most of telecommuting, here’s how to work from home.
There are around 2.2 million freelancers in the UK, with around 239,000 doing freelancing as a side hustle. That means that more than 1.9 million people freelance as their main job.
But taking the plunge and going freelance can be a pretty daunting experience and not a decision that can be taken lightly – it’s all very well ducking out of the rat race and becoming your own boss, but the sudden realisation you’ve no longer got a steady wage coming in is enough to make you pine for the office politics.
Get it right though – which means keeping your clients happy and delivering on time – and the benefits far outweigh the inevitable panic at the end of the month, so here are some top tips if you’re a work from home freelancer.
Last week we asked should work from home staff take a pay cut on the back of calls from government ministers to cut the wages of work from home civil servants, and Google’s decision to hand out pay cuts to US staff who opt to work from home full time.
For the record, we think it’s an awful idea that stinks of bosses trying to make more money with back door wage cuts. But, if it came to it, how many of us would actually agree to take a pay cut for the privilege?
A government minister has floated the idea that civil servants who work from home should be paid less than those that work from the office.
So, should work from home staff take a pay cut?
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