Workers in the public sector are more likely to work from home than their counterparts in the private sector, according to new figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
The survey found that more than a third (35 percent) of public servants are working either partly or fully from home, compared to around a quarter in the private sector (26 percent).
At the same time, more private sector employees unable to work from home (50 percent) compared with the public sector (42 percent).
Workers in the highest income band, those who were educated to degree level or above, and those in professional occupations were most likely to report home only or hybrid working, said the stats. In contrast, only five percent of workers with no qualifications reported working from home only and nine percent reported hybrid working.
Across all sectors, professional occupations, associate professional occupations and managers, directors and senior officials were the three occupations with the highest levels of both working from home only (27 percent, 22 percent and 21 percent, respectively) and hybrid working (44 percent, 39 percent and 43 percent, respectively).
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Additionally, self-employed workers were twice as likely to work from home only (32 percent) compared with employees (14 percent).
London residents reported the highest levels of hybrid working across Great Britain, with four in 10 workers both working from home and travelling to work. The next highest was the East of England (30 percent).
Home working peaked during the pandemic
Before the Covid-19 pandemic, ONS said only 12 percent of working adults reported working from home at some point in the week.
Levels of working from home peaked during the pandemic, with almost half of working adults (49 percent) reporting having worked from home in the first half of 2020. Two years later, when guidance to work from home was lifted in Great Britain, around 38 percent of working adults reported having worked from home.
Now, across the board, around 40 percent of working adults report they work from home at some point in the week. The ONS believes that homeworking is resilient to pressures such as the end of restrictions and increases in the cost of living.
