‘Many bosses’ reluctant to let staff work from home

Over two-thirds (69 per cent) of UK employers either never or only occasionally accept staff requests to work from home, the findings of a new study suggest.

According to the latest quarterly CIPD/KPMG Labour Market Outlook survey, 19 per cent of firms say they are more likely to accept flexible working requests from managers or professionals.

This is despite the fact that, of the organisations that offer home-working to employees, only eight per cent believe that staff who operate remotely are less productive than their office-based colleagues.

"Employers should be more accommodating about accepting requests to work from home, rather than fostering a culture of presenteeism," stated Gerwyn Davies, policy adviser at the CIPD.

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He added: "The allure of home-working for employees is becoming greater given the stress and rising costs associated with commuting."

Meanwhile, speaking at a recent Work Wise UK summit, Caroline Waters, director of employment policy at BT, said that allowing flexibility in working practices and promoting environmentally-friendly policies enables companies to attract the best personnel.