SUMMARY OF FINDINGS


OVERVIEW

In November 2008, there were just over 10.1 million people at work in the reference week, an increase of 7.4% since November 2005. Of these:

• 24% worked at least some hours at home in their main or second job, of which 32% worked only or mainly at home (7.6% of all employed people at work in the reference week).
• 34% spent some time travelling for work in their main job
• 41% worked at two or more location types in their main job
• 20% usually worked at least some hours at home in their main job.

Some 576,400 people were multiple jobholders in November 2008. Over one-third (34%) of multiple jobholders usually worked at their home in their second job and 27% spent some time driving or travelling for work in this job.


ALL LOCATIONS OF WORK


A greater proportion of people who worked in a second job in the reference week worked at least some hours at their home (36%) compared to 23% of people working in their main job. In contrast, a greater proportion of people working in their main job worked at a workplace (90%) compared to 73% of people working in a second job.


MAIN LOCATION OF WORK

The majority of employed people (82%) at work in the reference week, mainly worked at a workplace in their main job (77% of men and 87% of women). Women were more likely than men to have mainly worked at their home (8% and 5% respectively) but were less likely than men to have mainly spent time travelling for work (2% and 9% respectively).

More than three-quarters (81%) of employed people at work in the reference week were employees (excluding owner managers of incorporated enterprises (OMIEs)). Of these employees (excluding OMIEs), 90% mainly worked at a workplace in their main job, while only 1% mainly worked at their home. In contrast, 50% of owner managers of incorporated and unincorporated enterprises mainly worked at workplaces and 27% mainly worked at their home.

Women, who were owner managers of unincorporated enterprises, were most likely to work at their home (47%) followed by a workplace (43%). In comparison, men, who were owner managers of unincorporated enterprises, were more likely to work at a workplace (46%), compared with their home (21%).


PEOPLE WHO WORKED ANY HOURS AT HOME IN MAIN OR SECOND JOB

Of the employed people at work in November 2008, 2.4 million (24%) worked some hours at home in either their main or second job. Of these:

• 45% were women
• 78% were 35 years and over compared with 61% of all employed people
• 41% had children in their family aged less than 15 years compared with 35% of all employed people

The number of people who worked some hours at home as a proportion of all employed people generally increased with age. For example, 3% of those aged 15-19 worked some hours at home, 30% of those aged 35-44 worked some hours at home and 43% of those aged 65 and over worked some hours at home.


Employment characteristics

For men, who worked any hours at home in their main or second job, the most common occupation groups of their job at home were 'Professionals' and 'Managers' (both 31%), and 'Technicians and trades workers' (18%). The most common occupation groups for women, in their job at home, were 'Professionals' (39%), 'Clerical and administrative workers' (23%), and 'Managers' (20%).

The most common industries for men who worked any hours at home in their main or second job were the 'Construction' industry (16%) followed by 'Professional, scientific and technical services' (14%). For women, the most common industries were the 'Education and training' industry (24%) and the 'Professional, scientific and technical services' industry (12%).

Other characteristics of people who worked any hours at home in their main or second job include:

• 76% were full-time workers
• 34% reported that their main reason for doing some work at home was to catch up on work while a further 22% reported 'Wanted office at home/no overheads/no rent'
• 70% of people had an arrangement with their employer to work at home
• 84% of people used information technology at home in that job. Of these:
  • 91% of people who used information technology at home used both the computer and internet
  • 8% only used a computer
  • 1% only used the internet.

PEOPLE WHO WORKED ONLY OR MAINLY AT HOME IN MAIN OR SECOND JOB

There were 764,700 people who worked only or mainly at home in their main or second job in November 2008. Of these:

• 55% were women
• 83% were 35 years and over
• 39% had children in their family aged less than 15 years.

The proportion of younger people who worked only or mainly work at home in their main or second job was less than the proportion of all employed people. In contrast, the proportion of older people who worked at home was greater than the proportion of all employed people. For example:

Of all people who worked only or mainly at home,

• 4% were aged 15-24 years,
• 29% were aged 35-44 years, and
• 17% were aged 60 years and over.

Of all employed people,

• 17% were aged 15 -24 years,
• 23% were aged 35-44 years, and
• 8% were aged 60 years and over.

Employment characteristics


For men, who worked only or mainly at home in their main or second job, the most common occupation groups of their job at home were 'Managers' (42%), followed by 'Professionals' (32%) and 'Technicians and trades workers' (9%). By comparison, the most common occupation groups for women, in their job at home, were 'Clerical and administrative workers' (37%), followed by 'Professionals' (23%) and 'Managers' (21%).

Other employment characteristics of people who worked only or mainly at home in their main or second job include:

• 94% had an arrangement with their employer to work at home
• 37% reported that their main reason for working from home was 'Wanted office at home/no overheads/no rent' (37% for both men and women, followed by 'To operate a farm' (30% for men) and 'Flexible working arrangements' (16% for women)
• 31% worked 35 hours or more at home in all jobs.

SINGLE AND MULTIPLE JOBHOLDERS

There were approximately 9.5 million single jobholders at work in the reference week in November 2008. Just under one-quarter (22%) of these did at least some work at home in their job. Of these, 28% worked only or mainly at their home. Of the single jobholders who worked at home, 34% worked 49 hours or more in their job.

Other characteristics of the 9.5 million single jobholders include:

• 62% worked 35 hours or more of which 24% worked at least some hours at home
• 12% were owner managers of unincorporated enterprises
• 81% were employees (excluding OMIEs), of which 77% had paid leave entitlements in their job.

There were 576,400 multiple jobholders at work in the reference week in November 2008. In contrast to single jobholders, 30% of multiple jobholders did some work at home in their main job. Of these, 26% worked 49 hours or more in their main job. Of the multiple job holders who did some work at home, 30% worked only or mainly at their home in their main job.

Other characteristics of the 576,400 multiple jobholders' main job include:

• 40% worked 35 hours or more, of which 37% worked at least some hours at home
• 12% were owner managers of unincorporated enterprises
• 79% were employees (excluding OMIEs), of which 65% had paid leave entitlements.

Some 209,300 (36%) multiple jobholders did some work at home in their second job. Of these, 63% worked only or mainly at their home.

In contrast, characteristics of multiple jobholders' second job include:

• 2% worked 35 hours or more, of which 67% worked at least some hours at home
• 30% were owner managers of unincorporated enterprises
• 61% were employees (excluding OMIEs), of which 22% had paid leave entitlements.

Hours usually worked at home in main and second job¹

There were approximately 2 million people who usually worked at home in their main job (20% of all employed people) in November 2008. Of these:

• 77% usually worked less than 16 hours at home in their main job
• 11% usually worked 35 hours or more at home in their main job

The mean usual hours for employed people who usually worked at home in their main job was 13 hours (14 hours for men and 12 hours for women).

There were 195,400 multiple jobholders who usually worked at home in their second job (34% of all multiple jobholders) in November 2008. Of these:

• 86% usually worked less than 16 hours at home in their second job
• Less than 2% usually worked 35 hours or more at home in their second job.

The mean usual hours for multiple jobholders who usually worked at home in their second job was 8 hours (9 hours for men and 7 hours for women).


END NOTE

1. See paragraph 20 of the Explanatory Notes for more information.