The big and growing trend: working from home

The number of New Zealand adults working fulltime from home or remotely from their organisations has doubled in the past 9 years.

A Horizon Research survey finds 30% of New Zealand adult employees are now working full or part time from home or other remote locations.

Of these, 11% - around 235,100 New Zealanders 18+ - are working fulltime from remote locations, like homes.

The survey of 944 employed adults finds the potential to grow the work from home market is large:

• 39% of employed adults say their job could be done from home or another remote location, and

• 68% of those not currently working from home or a remote location would like to be able to if their job could be done from there.  That is equivalent to around 1,009,000 New Zealanders 18+ or 47% of currently employed New Zealanders.

The ability to work remotely could not only have a big impact on businesses which support or supply them, but also on where people decide to live, Horizon says.

Some 35% of those not currently working from home or a remote location say being able to work from home would give them the ability to move to another town, city or area they would prefer to live in.  That is around 514,700 New Zealanders 18+.

The ability to work from home or another remote location from the business has already enabled 9% of those who do work remotely to move to another town, city or area that they preferred to live in – around 59,000 New Zealanders 18+.  Another 7% working remotely – around 43,700 people - would like to move but haven’t yet.

Horizon says the number working fulltime from home has doubled since it measured it last in 2006 for a major telecommunications company.

In an increasingly wired up world, remote working could solve housing affordability issues for many and have big implications for slower growing regions and on transport and other planning issues in major centres.

By occupation, those in employment working full time from a remote location include, 5% of professionals and senior government officials; 8% of business managers and executives, 30% of business proprietors and self-employed, 7% of trained service workers, 8% of clerical and sales employees, 79% of farm owners and managers, 6% of technical, mechanical skilled workers and 3 % of labourers and agricultural or domestic workers.

By age, those working least from home or remotely overall are aged 18-24. Remote working rises with age.

Respondents, who are members of Horizon’s national HorizonPoll research panel, representing the New Zealand adult population at the last census, were told:

“The concept of "teleworking", "telecommuting" or "remote working", where being in the office isn't required and staff can work from home (or nearly anywhere) has been around since at least the 1970s. In different countries, opinions differ on the percentage of employed people who work remotely, but in New Zealand it appears to be relatively small.

“We are interested in whether New Zealanders would like to be able to work remotely, or whether they prefer to be in a business location with their co-workers.”

A full report on remote working and profiles of who do and would like to work remotely, and move to other areas if they could, is available from Horizon Research.

Top line results include:

Does the organisation you work for currently allow its staff to work from home? (All employed)

Do you currently work from home or from some other remote location? (All employed)

Could the job you do, be done from home or another remote location? (All employed)

If you were able to, would you like to work from home?  (Employed, not working from home or remotely)

If you were able to work from home, would that give you the ability to move to another town, city or area that you would prefer to live in? (Employed, not working from home or remotely)

Has working remotely from the business enabled you to move to another town, city or area that you preferred to live in? (Employed, working full time or part of the time from home or remotely)

For detailed research on the implications of remote working practice and intentions impact on your organisation or area, please contact:

Grant McInman, manager, Horizon Research

Telephone: 021 076 2040

E-mail: gmcinman@horizonresearch.co.,nz