Workers ‘more effective from home’

Some 54% of the almost 400 mums polled said they worked best from home, with 38% preferring a mix of home and office. Just 8% said they worked best from the workplace.

The survey comes after a leaked memo from Yahoo suggested workers were less productive and speedy when working remotely than in the office.

One woman said: “Working at home gives you the freedom to prepare yourself, have full confidence and be flexible around other commitments. Happy Person=Excellent Employee.”

Some mums who favoured working from home had particular reasons for doing so, for instance, they lived in rural areas with poor transport, had several children or had disabilities. One called for more proper homeworking jobs to be advertised.

But women cautioned against the idea that homeworking would save money on childcare.

One said: “I really don’t believe it’s possible to work effectively with kids at home, but with one child at school and one at full time nursery I could manage the housework in the extra two hours per day I would gain if I could work at home one or two days per week.

And work more effectively without the distractions of office chatter and interruptions.  However, my boss doesn’t trust me to do this which I  find insulting.”

However, social isolation was a concern raised by several mums who worked from home.

One mum stated that having a mix of home working and office working was best: “Having worked at home and enjoyed it I would say the only downsides are isolation and the distraction of household chores.

I find that working some of the time out in the field with clients and team breaks the routine and allows me to get my smart clothes on for a change! My vote is definitely for a mix of both!”

At an Anywhere Working meeting last week,  Dave Coplin, Chief Envisioning Officer at Microsoft, spoke of the need for employers to change their mindset and embrace remote working because it did not make any sense with current technological advances to make staff trek into work all at the same time, clogging up traffic and wasting time commuting. People could now work almost anywhere, he said, and could be more dynamic and more in touch with their clients or customers as a result.

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