Research has found that the number of people working from home has risen by 13 per cent over the course of the past five years.

Conducted by the TUC, the study was published to mark National Work From Home Day on May 17th, an event organised by WorkWise UK.

In addition to finding that the number of people who work from home has risen, the analysis also looked into the break down of who works from home. It found that 65 per cent of homeworkers are male, although an increasing number of women are looking into it as an option. In fact, the majority of home jobs created in the past five years have been taken by women.

Frances O'Grady, general secretary of the TUC, commented on the data: “The recession may have fuelled rising unemployment and put pressure on flexible working practices, but homeworking has continued to thrive and grow.

“Over four million people usually work from home, while many millions more occasionally do so. The sheer scale of homeworking proves how easily it can be done but there are still too many employers who are reluctant to allow staff to work away from the office or the shop floor.”

She added that there are challenges to implementing flexible working but that smart employment relations can usually provide an intelligent answer that suits both the employer and the worker.