Working from home is not significantly changing where people live, according to new research.

The study found that hopes of remote working helping struggling UK regions to attract high-skilled workers have not been realised.

The research, led by Professor Jackie Wahba from the University of Southampton and Dr David McCollum from the University of St Andrews, revealed that the surge in home working since the Covid-19 pandemic has not significantly altered residential patterns or helped to distribute talent more evenly across the country.

The researchers found that most home workers still follow hybrid patterns, splitting their time between home and office, and staying within reach of major employment hubs.

This limits the potential to reduce regional inequality or boost growth outside south-east England.

The team’s findings show that among all workers in the UK, just over 52 percent never work from home, but among high-skilled workers, this figure is just 29 percent.

The majority of those who work from home do so in a hybrid pattern, with at least some days spent in the office.

They also found that when high-skilled workers change where they live, housing needs tend to be the driver, rather than jobs.

This suggests the idea that working from home will allow lagging regions to attract high earners has yet to materialise, and in fact may not be realised at all.

Professor Wahba said: "Working from home is now a normal part of working life, with the potential to change where and how people work.

"It could offer major benefits, giving both employers and workers more choice and flexibility.

"But to achieve this, we must tackle key obstacles to residential mobility."

She continued: "There is also little evidence on the net economic impact for local areas of these changes in working patterns.

"We need better data on who is working from home, how often, and in what roles.

"This will help policymakers give targeted support to more regions.

"Working from home isn’t yet bridging the gap between regions.

"Policymakers, businesses, and local leaders need to act to ensure that job flexibility does not exacerbate inequality but is harnessed to support real, long-term regional growth."