But industry leaders have said it is crucial to find balance, despite some of the benefits that home working can bring.
‘For some people it means they don’t have to commute, and there is potentially more time they can work effectively because they’re not having to commute and find parking and “wasting” time getting into work or going on a lunch break,’ said Brooke Kenyon, managing director at communications agency The Orchard and president of the Chamber of Commerce.
‘Some people need it in different ways. People have completely different caring responsibilities, but it’s also about balance.
38% of households reported some home working in their households while 62% reported no home working.
The more adults aged 16 to 64 in a household, the more likely the household was to report at least some element of working from home.
‘At the end of the day, you’re paid to do a job and that needs to happen in the location your employer needs you to be in,’ said Mrs Kenyon.
‘There’s been some big headlines over recent months about big companies insisting people go in for a certain amount of days.
‘It’s a balance that needs to be found. I’m all for it in my organisation, I don’t mind where my team gets the work done from, if they’re getting the job done.’
The island currently has 2,500 job vacancies, and 6,000 islanders who are not economically active.
‘With the technology we have now, we can answer calls from anywhere, no one needs to be in the office to answer the telephone, our laptops ring and all our clients contact us through Teams or email,’ she said.
‘I also think that it’s a real challenge for people learning, or junior team members coming into the industry. We’ll all be there, you learn the soft skills to being in a team and how people work together and I don’t think that’s best learned from home.
‘New starters overhear what’s going on, pick up on cues, how people interact, what the best practice and behaviours are, so I would personally always favour as much in-office time, but there’s always a balance to be found.’
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