Number of days working from home has changed little for most people

What does the image show?

Whilst on average the number of days worked from home has reduced from June 2020 to June 2021, this reduction is the result of a relatively small proportion of people who have significantly reduced their home working. Three quarters of people have not changed the amount they work from home and 9% have worked from home more, reflecting slow changes in some workplaces which we have confirmed in our interview work. However, 17% of people have reduced and it is this change which is bringing down the average days per week worked from home.

Why is this important?

It is important to see the change in working practices as something which is in flux. We can anticipate more people reducing the number of days worked from home as offices open up more, but it is also important to note that with changes in technology and working practices, more jobs are also becoming amenable to home working and so this is not uni-directional. The changing balance of home working is fundamental to the travel demand reductions we will see from the pandemic, and the future pressures on our transport networks in the morning and evening peaks. This trend is key to both map but also to influence, and it appears that employer policies will be key.