Home workers in Scotland on the rise

Home is not only where the heart is; for one in nine Scottish workers it is also where their work is according to The Herald. A rise in the numbers who choose, or are allowed to, work from home was shown in findings from the Scottish Household Survey, issued in November 2008 by Scottish Government statisticians.
The trend has been upward since the question was first asked nine years ago, when one in 14 workers were counted as home workers for at least part of the working week. A major factor behind the change has been the growth in access to broadband, which is now linked to 44% of homes throughout Britain.
The move to home working, or tele-commuting, is being encouraged by the Scottish Government, as part of the strategy to reduce the environmental damage caused by commuting and traffic congestion.
It includes those who are self-employed, and some whose entire job is done from home. One of the growth areas has been among travel agents, replacing the cost of high street shops.
However, a survey of British employers published in May 2008 found more than two-thirds of them never or only occasionally accept requests from employees to work from home, with the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development finding the bosses feared they would not have sufficient control over staff.
Yet only 8% of employers in the same survey found that home workers were less productive, and 30% thought they can be more productive.
Managers also say the long-term impact of the social and employment shift is that they need less office space. Telecom company BT has 20% of its staff working full-time from home, and claims to have saved £70m as a result.

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George and Barbara Brown have run their leadership management consultancy business from their home in the south side of Glasgow for four years.
Mr Brown said: "Economic reasons were behind the decision. The cost of rent, electricity, fuel for travel costs were all reflecting on the price I was charging to customers. Our clients are mainly local authorities so our customers were ultimately the ratepayers."
Mr Brown was not surprised at the rise in home working. He recommends it for other small businesses, especially when starting out to help with costs.