Survey Finds Telecommuters Are Happier

July 19, 2011 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - According to a recent survey from Staples Advantage, the business-to-business division of Staples, Inc., telecommuters say they feel and work better when working from home.

Eighty-six percent of telecommuters say they are more productive in their home office.  

When asked to draw comparisons, telecommuters say their stress levels have dropped 25% on average since working from home. Seventy-three percent even say they eat healthier when working from home.   

In addition, 76% of telecommuters are more willing to put in extra time on work and say they are more loyal to their company since telecommuting. More than 80% say they now maintain a better work-life balance.   

Respondents love telecommuting so much, they claim they’d even be willing to sacrifice a few of their favorite things to continue working from home. Respondents would give up their favorite TV show (54%), forgo an extra hour of sleep (48%), swear off a favorite food (40%), or take a pay cut (40%) rather than stop telecommuting.   

According to a press release, telecommuters say they rely on email (96%), instant messaging (68%), videoconferencing (44%), and unified communications technologies (25%) to stay connected to the office.   

More than two-thirds of telecommuters say they didn’t receive IT security training in preparation for home office work. However, 95% say they install operating system updates right away, and 84% don’t store personal data on their machines.   

Nearly one in three telecommuters say they never back up their data – leaving themselves and their companies vulnerable to data loss. Staples Advantage notes it’s important to educate telecommuters on how and when to back up their data. Data backups should be automated and tested to ensure functionality.

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