UK Covid homeworkers worked longer and took fewer sick days in 2020

The UK survey found those who worked from home did 32.3 hours on average per week

Kate Ng

April 20 2021 02:30 AM

British people who worked from home in 2020 worked around six hours of unpaid overtime each week on average, nearly double the amount of unpaid overtime done by those who never worked from home, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

In its latest analysis of Britain's home working situation, the ONS found that people who work from home to any degree consistently work more hours than those who never worked from home.

In 2020, those who worked from home did 32.3 hours on average per week compared to the 27.7 hours weekly average worked by people working away from home. According to the ONS, unpaid overtime was highest for those who recently worked from home between 2011 and 2019.

But in 2020, the hours worked by each group that worked from home converged to around six hours, while the amount of unpaid overtime done by those who never worked from home remained largely unchanged at 3.6 hours per week on average.

Employees working from home also took fewer sick days, equivalent to just two days per worker in 2020. In comparison, those who never worked from home took an equivalent of 4.3 sick days per worker.

The sickness absence rate, which is calculated as the percentage of working hours lost due to illness, fell among those who mainly worked from home. The ONS said this could be attributed to home working resulting in less exposure to germs and therefore minimising some of the usual sickness absences.

In contrast, the sickness absence rate among people who reported only sometimes working from home increased to 2.7pc, equivalent to 5.1 days lost per worker in 2020.

Before the coronavirus pandemic hit in 2020, the ONS said homeworkers were paid on average 6.8pc less than those who never worked from home.