The Office for National Statistics compiles statistics which tell us the approximate number of people in work in the United Kingdom. While there are slight variations in the monthly totals the figure is generally around the 29million mark. Various surveys of working practices and human resource themes have estimated that the number of employees who Work From Home the whole time is around 3 per cent of the total workforce. On top of this there are some employees who Work From Home infrequently. A respected Government survey suggests that 7% of employees work at home once a week, 5% do so once a month and 6% do so less than once a month. The same survey reports that the 3 per cent figure has remained steady since at least 2002 but that the other figures are slowly rising.

The recent developments in communication technology and the constant expansion of the World Wide Web has led to the dawn of the Internet Business and it would be understandable to think that many Online Jobs are being generated on the back of it. While cutting-edge technology is apparent in places of work throughout Great Britain it can often be hard or expensive to duplicate it at home. The survey which produced the statistics above also issues information on the equipment and technology being used by those workers who Work From Home infrequently.

The survey points out that approximately eighty two per cent of these workers use a PC, a laptop or a PDA, the new handy device which also act as a mobile phone. 79 per cent of workers need a telephone or mobile phone and seventy eight per cent use a broadband internet connection. 7 per cent are still getting by with a dial-up internet connection. The most telling figure was that 47% of workers were able to create a remote access to their office network. While eighty two per cent of workers have a computer, only forty nine per cent claim to use a printer which would indicate that a little progress is being made towards the holy grail of the paperless office. Despite the creation of all the new technology 7% of workers still require a fax machine. As evidence that not every job craves new technology or hardware, eight per cent of respondents to the survey said that they used none of the items mentioned above.

The content of each job function is evidently a major feature in deciding whether to allow workers to Work From Home and the survey results would seem to confirm that there are many more jobs that require occasional working from home than require it on a full time basis. If the Internet Business wants to provide all of its workers with the essential equipment to Work From Home, including remote access to its office network, then they can make all of their roles Online Jobs and make savings on the renting of office space. However the survey also tells us the fact that only 9% of those who Work From Home occasionally and 3 per cent of those who have never worked at home think that they could do all of their Work From Home.

In summary, technology does help to permit workers to Work From Home but the chance of success is very task-specific and the statistics would suggest that any swing away from the traditional office environment will be a trickle not a flood.

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