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Homeworking equals more productivity

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Close to three-quarters (73 per cent) of workers have revealed that they put more effort in than is required when working from home, according to new research.

The study from Cardiff University, which was reported on by the Daily Mail, found that 39 per cent of people who mostly worked from home often worked additional hours to get through their tasks, or to help out colleagues, compared with less than a quarter (24 per cent) of those in fixed workplaces.

In addition, the research – which was based on approximately 15,000 responses from workers in 2001, 2006 and 2012 – found that the proportion of people who mainly worked in traditional workplaces, such as an office, had decreased from 75 per cent in 2001 to 66 per cent in 2012.

However, two in five (44 per cent) of those who worked remotely also said they struggled to relax and unwind after work, compared with 38 per cent of staff who worked in fixed locations.

“Remote workers are over-compensating to prove to their colleagues that they are not in their pyjamas at home and prove to their employers that they are a safe pair of hands willing to go the extra mile in return for the discretion an employer gives them to work at home or in a remote location,” Professor Alan Felstead, research professor in the University of Cardiff’s school of social sciences, was quoted by the newspaper as saying.

If you have homeworkers, consider the following to ensure the arrangement is a success:

  • Keep in contact and communicate often and set the ground rules and expectations;
  • Have a system to ensure continued productivity;
  • Inform them of and invite them to all work-related activities – not a case a out of sight, out of mind;
  • Consider practical things like working environment, telephone bills, confidentiality, health and safety, insurance etc (boring, but necessary);
  • Do you need a Homeworking or Flexible Working policy??


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