Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Is work/life balance really better for homeworkers?

Almost half (45 per cent) of home-based businesses find it difficult to separate their work and home life, according to research from BT Business released today. This contrasts with other findings of the independent research report into home-based businesses, which highlighted that 56 per cent began their companies because they wanted a better work-life balance and a third-ish (34 per cent) wanted to spend more time with the family. Two thirds-ish of businesses interviewed (62 per cent) also made the choice to be home-based so that they could have increased flexibility or work the hours they choose – this is particularly true in Scotland and Wales, with 70 per cent and 71 per cent respectively.

The research conducted by BT Business, which has named 2008 as Year of the Home Worker, shows the 2.1m British home-based businesses differ significantly from region to region when it comes to why they based their businesses from home. For example the biggest hurdle for businesses in the West Midlands is financial stability even though their key reason for starting a business was to reap the benefits of lower overheads. Scottish businesses are most concerned with having a better work/life balance and even though Londoners live in the biggest city in the UK their biggest concern is still finding customers.

No comments:

Post a Comment