The
chief benefit of working from home is the chance to get the housework done,
according to almost two-thirds of British workers.
A
survey by Epsom, the computer printer manufacturer, found that 61 per cent of
UK staff thought the chance to clean up was the biggest advantage of working
from home, with 40 per cent actually using time away from the office to do the
chores.
Perhaps
this accounts for the British being the most paranoid of European homeworkers,
with half of respondents e-mailing or telephoning a colleague early in the
morning to prove they were hard at work. Only 14 per cent of Germans feel the
need to check in.
Our
favourite places to work are the lounge or dining room, with the French
preferring to bang out their work in the bedroom.
Overall,
fewer Britons work from home compared to other European countries, although
more would like the opportunity to do so.
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The
study claims that by 2005 about 16 million people, one in 10 of those in the
EU, will be working from home either permanently or for part of the working day.