Survey: Working From Home More Productive, Less Stress

BOSTON (CBS) - Companies that cringe at the idea of their employees working from home in their fuzzy slippers should take note: firms that allow their employees to work from home enjoy happier, more productive staffers, according to a new survey from office supply giant Staples Inc.

About 86-percent of telecommuters said they were more productive when working from their home office, according to the survey of about 140 telecommuters from Framingham-based Staples.

Staples business-to-business unit, Staples Advantage, conducted the survey.

Lisa van der Pool of the Boston Business Journal reports

Telecommuters also reported that their stress levels were about 25-percent lower since they started working from home and they also said they eat healthier meals when at home. (No snack machine to tempt hungry, stressed workers.)

People who work at home regularly also said they¹re more willing to put in extra time on the job, since they don¹t have to make the long commute every day.

Although every company has a different work-from-home policy, telecommuting is gaining steam nationally.

About 63 million U.S. workers will count themselves as telecommuters by 2016, according to Forrester Research.