Small businesses look set to stick with home working despite the change in Government guidance, spurred on by substantial savings, new research suggests.
Firms with fewer than 50 employees save an average of almost £4,000 a month by not having to pay for an office, said Hitachi Capital Business Finance.
They are more likely to work entirely from home well into next year, said the report.
A survey of more than 1,000 small business owners found that one in four had plans to continue working entirely from home until at least April next year, while a similar number were planning hybrid working.
Joanna Morris of Hitachi Capital Business Finance said: “As the worst of the pandemic hopefully begins to fade, and the option of returning to a fixed workplace is put back on the table once again, we might expect to see most taking up this option and returning to ‘normal’.
“However, this research reminds us that it may not be the perfect solution for everyone.
“As with every business decision that owners make, particularly over the past 18 months, a range of factors need to be taken into consideration first, with the bottom line understandably often given a heavier weighting.
“The one positive that has come from this particularly challenging period has been the requirement to be far more flexible and open minded than ever before, with changes to the business that will reap benefits in the long term.”