Britain Is Becoming A Nation Of "Hobits"

Online, October 20, 2010 (Newswire.com) - Research* released today shows that Britons are becoming a nation of "HOBITs" - Home Office Business Internet Thankful - as the growth of the internet and mobile technologies mean that increasingly people are working from home or are required to undertake work related tasks from home.

The study, undertaken by TNS Research and commissioned by the UK's Self Storage Association (SSA), reveals that nearly half (41%) of British workers now work from home - either finishing off work such as emails, reports and making calls or working from home full time. This figure is likely to grow further as almost a quarter (22%) felt that the amount of work they do from home had increased in the last three years and a further fifth felt that the amount of working from home was likely to increase in the coming year. Only 8% felt that levels of home working would decrease.

The research also revealed that the internet is key to home working with more than three quarters of people (78%) saying internet access was the most important element to successful home working - even more than the telephone which was second with two thirds (66%) of people saying it was key. Suitable working space was nearly as important as the phone (62%) and over a third (36%) stated that storage was important in making space for offices at home.

Of those interviewed nearly half (47%) would prefer to work from home, and a third (29%) claimed they felt they would be more productive if allowed to work from home. Flexibility of working hours and convenience were cited as the two biggest benefits of working from home at 31% and 26% respectively - with women liking the flexibility (34% stating it as key reason); while 30% of men cited cost savings as the main benefit.
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Rodney Walker, CEO of the Self Storage Association, comments: "With the right communications and available space people are realising the benefits of working from home. It seems to be "win win" as companies benefit from improved levels of productivity and savings to office space; while employees benefit from convenience, flexibility and reduced costs."

HOBITs not only benefit from the convenience and flexibility of working from home but also significant cost savings. Nearly two thirds (57%) of people spend up to £10 a day on work related costs (travel, lunch, parking, clothes etc) which equates to spending more than £2500** per year. The cost of working in London was highest with a quarter (25%) spending between £10 and £20 per day, compared to only 13% of workers in Wales spending that amount.

The trend for home working is also reflected in the growth of self storage in the UK as people use the facilities to make more space at home for an office or work-station. Last year alone more than 1m square foot of self storage space was added - bringing the total area to 28 million square feet of self storage space in the UK.

Rodney Walker concludes: "As the trend for smaller houses and living space continues in the UK more people are turning to self storage to store their possessions. This trend is further compounded as more people are working from home or creating home offices to save money, finish work or run internet businesses. Improvements in technologies and the services available to support businesses are making it all possible and it appears that this trend is here to stay as the benefits are realised all round."

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For more information, contact:
Louis Hill, Source PR 01270 781 315
07788 928 191

* undertaken by TNS Research surveyed 1000 adults between 23/09/10 and 27/09/10.
** £10 per day multiplied by 5 gives a weekly rate of £50. Multiply £50 by 4.3 for a monthly rate and multiply that by 12 to give an annual rate = £2580 p.a. (after tax)