People with children and renters are more likely to have seen their spending on utility bills increase while working from home during the coronavirus pandemic, official figures suggest.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said almost half of people who worked from home had spent less than they would have normally, with reduced costs for travel and food offset by an increase in spending on gas, electricity and internet access.
However, it said the change in spending patterns was more pronounced for some people in the survey of more than 3,000 adults in Great Britain undertaken by government statisticians last month.
As many as 92% of people working from home who live in rented accommodation reported increased spending on utilities, compared with 86% for home workers who were paying a mortgage and 77% for those who owned their homes outright.
It also found people working from home with children were more likely to report increased spending on food, utilities and internet access compared with home workers without children.
Concerns are mounting over rising energy prices amid Britain’s cost of living crisis, with households expected to see a 54% increase in average gas and electricity bills from April. The government has announced plans to cushion the blow from rising prices, though charities have warned that millions of families will still be pushed into fuel poverty.
The ONS said overall rates of home working rose during December and January as more people stayed indoors due to the Omicron variant. However, rates remained significantly lower than earlier in the pandemic.
From 29% in September – the lowest since the pandemic began – the proportion of working adults who said they had worked from home at least once in the previous seven days rose to 36% in January. Home working rates peaked at 49% in early June 2020.
Despite higher utility costs, almost half (46%) of people said they had spent less money as a result of working from home in January – a proportion similar to the ONS survey in November (49%).
Half said they had spent less on fuel and parking for commuting, while 40% said they had spent less on public transport.
The ONS said the percentage of people working from home correlated with the stringency of Covid-19 restrictions and consumer spending, suggesting a link between working from home and reduced spending in shops, pubs and restaurants.
Sarah Coles, a senior personal finance analyst at the investment firm Hargreaves Lansdown, said people working from home “could be in for a nasty shock” when they go back to the office because of rising petrol and diesel prices and living costs.
“There are always some exceptions to the rule, but on average working from home is cheaper,” she said.
