Research commissioned to coincide with Remote Office Day this week (10th November) shows that recession-hit small firms have reservations about the productivity of employees who work from home.

According to the study by remote access specialists LogMeIn, one in four small and medium-sized companies are also "technologically unprepared" to facilitate homeworking.

Just over a fifth of those questioned about homeworking admitted they have concerns about the productivity of staff who work from home, despite research highlighting that homeworkers actually put in longer hours than their office-based counterparts.

Furthermore, over two-thirds of respondents revealed that working from home boosts staff productivity, while more than half intend to increase the use of homeworking in the next six months.

"Recent studies show that telecommuters actually put in longer hours than their office counterparts, and experience higher levels of job satisfaction," confirmed a spokesperson for LogMeIn.

Companies with homeworking programmes have also encountered drops in absenteeism and an increase in employee retention, the representative continued, pointing out that this brings down the costs of hiring and training new employees.

Other benefits of homeworking identified by the researchers include the potential for 24/7 customer service, boosted employee morale and reduced staff sick leave.