Posted on: Tuesday, December 11, 2001

More people using home offices

By Greg Wright
Gannett News Service

People armed with computers, laptops and fax machines are more eager than ever to set up a home office, despite the recession and the war on terrorism, a recent survey indicates.

In fact, the poor economy may prompt some idled workers to use technology to set up home businesses, and the terrorist attacks are prompting other workers to stick closer to home, experts said.

"Sometimes (layoffs) cause people to re-evaluate," said Lisa Kanarek, owner of the HomeOfficeLife.com consulting company.

More than 50 percent of Americans think it is very or extremely important to dedicate a room or area of their home as a home-office space, according to an October Greenfield Online Research survey that was commissioned by Logitech, a leading home office consumer electronic product manufacturer

Of the 1,000 people Greenfield surveyed, almost 50 percent said they use their home office at least once a day. The most common activities: surfing the Web, e-mailing family and friends, paying bills, playing games, daydreaming, finishing office work or telecommuting.

What's more, those surveyed said they were up to three times more productive when they worked from home, said Robin Selden, vice president of worldwide marketing for Logitech Inc. in Fremont, Calif.

More than 4 million Americans now work from home, according to 2000 U.S. Census data. About 3.4 million said they worked from home on the 1990 Census.