Office workers save £500 a month by working from home

Office-based employees in the UK save about £500 ($665) a month by working from home, research suggests.

With working from home the “new normal” for nearly half (49%) of all working adults in the UK, many have saved money by cutting down on travel, food and clothing expenses, software specialists Protecting found.

Based on figures from The Office for National Statistics (ONS) that show the UK saved £157bn over the three months of full lockdown, the average UK employee is about £495 a month better off working from home, according to the research.

READ MORE: Working remotely could save up to £36,500

“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 company spokesperson Mark Hall.

“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.”

“It’s no surprise people are saving more when they’ve been stuck at home — there were no pubs, shops or restaurants open to spend in, and no need to fork out on clothing when we’ve all been lounging around in our comfy gear at home.”

Many Brits who have been lucky enough to keep their jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic have found there is a financial benefit to swapping their office desk for their dining room table.

Nearly one in 10 (9%) Brits said the money saved on commuting is the thing they most value about working from home, with nearly half (46%) overall preferring it to working in the office, and a quarter (26%) saying they would not longer take a job if working from home wasn’t an option, separate research found.

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Meanwhile, US workers could save $4.5tn (£3.6tn) annually by 2030 by working from home, a study found.

“I’ve saved so much money by not going out for lunches with the girls in the office or going to staff drinks on a Friday, that I can afford a holiday when all of this is over. It’s definitely made me realise that I can save money if I cut out some of my habits,” one worker said.

Another added: “I started a help-to-buy ISA last summer, but now I’m not paying for the train I’ve managed to put enough money together for a house deposit — I was definitely not expecting to leave lockdown this well off, it’s like a pay rise without getting a pay rise.”

However, it’s safe to say not everyone has felt financially better off, with boredom among children and adults alike costing Brits more than they would usually spend on “boredom buys”.

“There’s no such thing as saving money when you’ve got kids to entertain — especially since they haven’t been able to go to school. I would never usually spend this much on books, games and food to keep them busy,” a parent explained.