Office stress? Take it home

Stressed colleagues, office politics and the trials of commuting are behind the huge rise in the number of people opting to work from home, according to a survey for the Evening Standard.

More than 40 per cent of those who made the switch had become fed up with squabbling colleagues and a pressured environment, while more than 80 per cent cited the gruelling commute.

And a staggering 98 per cent claimed to be less stressed, with 77 per cent having more time to spend with their families.

The analysis was one of the most detailed conducted on home workers. Using a sample of 200 teleworkers - the term given to a range of professionals who work from home for more than two days a week - it probed the detail of their daily lives as well as their reasons for changing.

In the last five years there has been a 70 per cent increase in the numbers working from home. Today almost one in 10 people - or two million - are teleworkers. Alan Denbigh, executive director of the Telework Association which represents more than 2,000 people, said the huge shift showed just how disenchanted many people felt with office life.

"Working in an office can often mean people are bossed about, told when to arrive, where to park, how long to work and also how to work," he said.

"Many don't like the way they are ordered about like children and know they could produce better work, more efficiently from home. This survey shows just how many people in almost every profession have proved they are capable of doing their job with a computer and phone when based in their own houses."

Almost all said that cutting out time spent chatting to colleagues and dealing with inane questions increased their productivity by an average 35 per cent.

Yvonne Bennion, a policy specialist for the Work Foundation think-tank, said: "What all of the research seems to point to is that people work faster from home. Some were even finding they finished their workload in the early afternoon.

"But the one thing still blocking many firms from allowing employees to work at home is the fear that if they are not in the office, they are not really working. We have to get over this trust barrier, because more often than not the amount of work done will spiral."

Despite the obvious advantages of flexible hours, the study did find there are tough lifestyle changes to be made when working from home. To get themselves into work mode, a handful of respondents said they still put on their office clothes each morning ready for work, while others wrote strict "to do" lists and avoided emails from friends.

Many found working from home too quiet and isolating, with 15 per cent admitting they missed the office interaction.

A further 20 per cent said they were more sedentary than when they worked in an office. And the proximity to the kitchen proved a temptation too far for a handful who admitted making up to 20 cups of coffee a day and raiding the fridge out of boredom.

Half of respondents were aged 20 to 30 and had been working from home for a few years. Almost all said they did not regret their decision.

The Telework Association will tomorrow hold a series of seminars in London to encourage employers to consider allowing staff to work from home, and to explain what setting up at home means for employees.