British homeworkers lag behind European counterparts

Britain
has the second-lowest number of staff working from home in Europe, despite
having a high level of enthusiasm for teleworking across the workforce.

New
research shows that 52 per cent of Europeans work from home, with a third doing
so every day or several times a week.

The
research, by Epson, interviewed 750 staff from five European nations.

Just
48 per cent of staff in the UK said they work from home, the second lowest
number in Europe and just ahead of France on 43 per cent.

Although
staff in the UK were less likely to work from home than other nations, more
than half of the British respondents (56 per cent) said they would like it as
an option.

Cutting
down stress levels was the most popular benefit of working from home, with 73
per cent of the overall sample and 81 per cent of the British contingent citing
it as the main advantage.

The
research found that home working staff were generally more relaxed.

Levels
of home working around Europe:

Germany          60 per cent
Italy                  54 per cent
Spain                54
per cent
UK                  48 per cent
France             43
per cent

By Ross Wigham