Jayne Clark, who lives in Cornwall with her husband and two children, says working from home has been hugely beneficial for her. She works in credit management and has been working from home for three years.
“Since I’ve been working from home I find I am so much more productive,” said Ms Clark.
She said her 45-minute commute used to leave her “stressed and exhausted” upon returning home. Since starting home-working, she now sets her alarm a little later, and with no commute has an extra half hour in the morning she uses the extra time “to go for a run or walk the dog”.
She added that working from home had also made it “easier for childcare and for school runs so it’s less stressful”.
“I find it easier to get to sleep because I haven’t got as much on my mind,” Ms Clark said.
Despite the pandemic-driven trend of working from home, several high-profile companies have scrapped the practice.
Supermarket chain Asda recently said it intended to cut hybrid working as part of a business restructure and Amazon announced it would order staff back to the office five days a week from January next year.
The shift has not been confined to the private sector. Civil servants were recently informed that they would have to spend at least three days a week in the office.
Some of these moves have seemed at odds with the new Labour government’s Employment Rights Bill, which aims to strengthen access to flexible working.
Workers are already able to request flexible working arrangements from when they start a new job, but the new laws could strengthen such rights.
