Homeworking can be a talent retention tool

Homeworking is beneficial for both employers and employees, the Telework Association has suggested. The association’s chairman Brian Higton says business owners can benefit from a reduction in costs, flexibility and “improved staff loyalty and retention”.

“For the employee [it offers] a greater reduction or elimination of wasted time spent commuting – the UK has the longest commuting times in Europe,” he comments.

Mr Higton says homeworking can also improve the balance between home and work life, leading to a reduction in stress levels and increased productivity.

According to a recent report by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, UK workers enjoy fewer days of paid leave than a majority of their European counterparts – 20 days per year compared to 25-30 in other EU countries.

The report also found that one-fifth of Britons work 45 hours per week; however, employees in Japan and America work the longest hours in the developed world and have the least amount of annual leave.