Respondents who had availed of remote working were asked about their remote working pattern in the four weeks previous to interview in Quarter 3, 2021. This included persons who may have been remote working at some point during the previous year but were now back on-site in the workplace.
Note that more than one option could be selected by respondents.
The most commonly used remote working space was the home, either completely or as a blend of remote working spaces - over three quarters (75.6%) working there, compared with just 0.5% working in remote working hubs or co-working spaces. One in fourteen (6.7%) workers remote working in the four weeks prior to interview were travelling for work, as part of their blended working pattern. See Table 3.1 and Figure 3.1.
All workers in the Information and communication sector who were working remotely in the four weeks prior to interview had worked at home for part or all of their working time, while one in six (16.6%) were back on-site in the workplace for part of their working week, and 3.7% were travelling for work. See Table 3.1.
| Where they worked | |
| Workplace | 26 |
| Home | 75.6 |
| Hub or co-working space | 0.5 |
| Travelling for work | 6.7 |
Of employees in the Public administration and defence sector, working remotely in the four weeks prior to interview, over three quarters (76.7%) were working from home, either fully or in a blended work pattern, while almost four in ten (39.8%) had worked in the office for some of their working time, and over one in twenty (5.4%) had travelled for work. See Table 3.1.
By far the most common remote working space chosen by Managers, directors and senior officials was the home (97.6%), compared with Professional (68.3%). Almost four in ten (39.0%) Managers, directors and senior officials used the workplace and nearly one in ten (9.4%) were travelling for work for part of their working time. See Table 3.1.
The survey findings show that workers in large organisations were still remote working at time of interview – just one in eleven (8.7%) were not remote working on the four weeks prior to interview, compared with over four in ten (42.9%) workers in organisations of between 20 and 99 personnel. Workers in large organisations (100 people or more) were largely working remotely from home (91.2%) with over one quarter (27%) in the workplace for part of their working time, 4% were travelling for work for part of their working time and just 0.2% used a hub or co-working space. See Table 3.2.
Nearly half (48.8%) of part-time workers, who had worked remotely during COVID-19, were not working remotely in the four weeks prior to interview, compared with less than one in five (19.8%) of their full-time equivalents. Similarly, nearly half (47.3%) of temporary workers, who had previously remote worked during the COVID-19 pandemic, were no longer remote working, compared with only one in five (20.2%) permanent workers. See Table 3.2.
For workers with no dependent children, and residing with three or more adults, over four in ten (43.5%) were not remote working in the four weeks prior to interview, compared with one in seven (13.8%) workers with no dependent children and living alone. These workers, with no dependent children and living alone, were most likely to remote work from home (85.8%) and nearly one in five (18.6%) were back in the workplace for part of their working time while 2% were travelling for work for part of their work time. See Table 3.3.
For three quarters of workers with dependent children and residing with one other adult (75.1%) who were remote working in the month prior to interview, they worked from home either fully or partially, while a further three in ten (31.1%) were in the workplace for part of their working time. See Table 3.3.
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