Skip to main content
We're here with practical information for your business. Learn about business planning, running a business and more.

Search

For a successful business, you need a viable business idea, the skills to make it work and the funding. Discover whether your idea has what it takes.

Forming your business correctly is essential to ensure you are protected and you comply with the rules. Learn how to set up your business.

Advice on protecting your wellbeing, self-confidence and mental health from the pressures of starting and running a business.

Learn why business planning is an essential exercise if your business is to start and grow successfully, attract funding or target new markets.

It is likely you will need funding to start your business unless you have your own money. Discover some of the main sources of start up funding.

Businesses and individuals must account for and pay various taxes. Understand your tax obligations and how to file, account and pay any taxes you owe.

Businesses are required to comply with a wide range of business laws. We introduce the main rules and regulations you must comply with.

Marketing matters. It drives sales and helps promote your brand and products. Discover how to market your business and reach your target customers.

Some businesses need a high street location whilst others can be run from home. Understand the key factors from cost to location, size to security.

Your employees can your biggest asset. They can also be your biggest challenge. We explain how to recruitment and manage staff successfully.

It is likely your business could not function without some form of IT. Learn how to specify, buy, maintain and secure your business IT.

Few businesses manage the leap from start up to high-growth business. Learn what it takes to scale up and take your business to the next level.

The unexpected benefits of working from home

8 September 2020

Employees are not only more productive when they work from home, they are also financially better off, according to new research.

Employees who have been able to keep their jobs and work from home during the pandemic have found themselves hundreds of pounds better off per month, according to a study by health and safety software specialist Protecting.co.uk.

Its findings show that those who work from home are, on average, £500 better off a month because they have spent significantly less on travel, food and clothes.

"Working from home has the unexpected benefit of saving people a lot of money because they aren't having to pay travel costs to go anywhere or splash out on expensive coffees and lunches," said Mark Hall of Protecting.co.uk.

"And now that staff have proved to employers that they can work efficiently at home, travelling into an office may seem like nothing more than an expensive commute."

According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the average person has saved £495 a month because of working from home.

Protecting's online poll of workers has found that while some people have managed to save for deposits on a house and for holidays, others have incurred additional expenses such as takeaways and online purchases.

Even so, it's clear that many working Brits have been able to save money during lockdown. A survey commissioned by Eskenzi PR has found that 73% of British workers are better off financially since lockdown. Of over the 1,000 people surveyed, 30% said they saved on lunches by working from home, 60% of people saved money by not going out and 50% saved on commuting costs.

The study also found that almost 90% of those employed in the financial sector reported savings. Similarly, those in IT, legal, HR and education also managed to increase their savings during the months of lockdown. Even key workers were able to save, despite still having to commute to work.

Food has been a major factor, with 30% of respondents citing this as one of the main reasons they were able to save money. Workers managed to save an average of £820 over the six-month lockdown period just by making lunch at home. Government schemes such as Eat Out to Help Out also helped.

Although spending is starting to increase as people go back into their workplaces, 75% of respondents said that their employers will allow flexible working, enabling them to continue saving.

"It all comes down to the employers now - will most of them allow their staff the freedom to work flexibly?" said Yvonne Eskenzi, co-founder of Eskenzi PR . "My gut feeling is that it's going to happen whether employers like it or not as a revolution has happened right under our noses."

Employers may well be swayed by evidence that employees are more productive when they work from home. A poll of 1,000 office workers currently working from home, conducted by Utility Bidder, has found that 45% of workers said their personal productivity had improved, while another 22% said their team's productivity had improved.

Written by Rachel Miller.

Stay up-to-date with business advice and news

Sign up to this lively and colourful newsletter for new and more established small businesses.