management-issues.com:

Most managers, if asked, would probably say they still prefer to be able to see the team they are managing. But, in an increasingly wired and global environment, the days of insisting workers are physically present in the office do look numbered, according to new research.

The number of people “teleworking” from home has risen dramatically over the past few years, the survey by the UK Confederation of British Industry and recruiter Pertemps has concluded.

Almost half of the more than 500 employers polled said they now offered teleworking to staff, a dramatic increase from the 14 per cent reported two years ago and 11 per cent in 2004.

The snapshot echoes the experience of employers in the U.S and Canada, where a survey of 2,700 employers earlier this month by World at Work found that teleworking had soared in popularity over the past 12 months.

More than four out of 10 U.S firms and a similar percentage in Canada now offered teleworking, though how many workers actually took the offer up remained a moot point.

Photo by tome213.