Flexible working ‘has positive effect on wellbeing’


Polling for the FDA senior civil service union has found working from home has a positive impact on wellbeing and work-life balance.

The union commissioned Public First to carry out polling of a nationally representative sample of more than 2,000 adults in the UK, as well as a representative sample of 542 “red wall” voters. Just under half (49%) worked from home on occasion and this rose to 53% of red wall respondents. 


Sixty-nine per cent of respondents said working from home had a positive impact on their wellbeing and, while people were more likely to respond to email out of work hours, 74% reported an improved work-life balance. Two thirds of those who worked from home said they find it easier to focus compared to working in the office, and 62% said they were more productive. 


On the question of whether civil servants should return to the office, 72% of respondents thought there are larger issues in government than where civil servants are based, and 51% said they did not care where civil servants work. These figures rose to 77% and 53% respectively among red wall respondents.


Commenting on the findings, FDA general secretary Dave Penman said many employers had recognised the benefits of offering greater flexibility, with “this quiet industrial revolution” seeing almost half of workers working from home at least some of the time.