I worked from home for a good number of years, it was the type of job which was suited to it as there was a fair bit of travel involved and I relied to a certain extent on my own personal resources, so there are cases where it can be beneficial.
It does, though, require self discipline and focus, which was OK for me as the family was raised and gone, but for those with kids at school, or younger, I can imagine it's a struggle alright.
Now with an unexpected 'career change' at 65 I find myself working on a construction site along with 1,500 other people. There it becomes obvious that there are a great many jobs which simply cannot be done from home, but the media and chattering classes are rarely exposed to this raw labouring and so it slips completely under their radar.