• Research
• 6 Oct 2022
• Joshua Toovey

• Freelancers overwhelming support remote working, with 9 in 10 (90%) working from home in the last 12 months.
• On average, freelancers spend 87 per cent of their week working from home.
• The majority of those working from home worked in an area of their home dedicated to work such as a home office or workspace (91%).

Despite some backlash to remote working in recent months from those in government, freelancers are still overwhelming in favour of ditching their client's premises and working from home. In fact, IPSE research shows that 9 in 10 (90%) freelancers have worked remotely in the last 12 months. For context, this represents an increase of 3 per cent since 2019.

Interestingly, when you break down the demographics of those who work from home, those aged over 55 were slightly more likely to have worked remotely in the past 12 months than those aged 55 or younger (82% compared to 78% respectively). Moreover, men are more likely to have worked remotely in the past 12 months compared to women (82% compared to 77% respectively).

The majority of those working from home worked in an area of their home dedicated to work such as a home office or workspace (91%). This was followed by areas not typically dedicated to working like living rooms and kitchens (69%), public spaces (42%) such as cafes, restaurants and public libraries, and co-working spaces and workhubs (23%).

When asked how long they work remotely per week, the research found that they spend an average of 87 per cent of their time at home. For context, this represents a 25 per cent increase since 2019. Moreover, the research found that respondents aged 45 years and over were more likely than those aged 16-45 to spend more than 75 per cent of their typical week working remotely (68% compared to 51% respectively).

Remote working locations in the last 12 months

The advantages and disadvantages of remote working

When asked to select their top three advantages of working remotely, almost half (45%) of freelancers stated that remote working provides them with more flexibility in how they use their time whilst a further half (45%) reported that they have more time as a result of reduced travel. 

On the other hand, freelancers stated that their top three disadvantages of working remote were feeling disconnected (23%) from their clients, not feeling part of a team (23%), and not receiving real-time feedback from their clients (19%). Furthermore, another 18 per cent reported that they felt lonely due to remote working.

Read the full report here