Organisations based in the Midlands are more likely to enable their employees to work from home than the rest of the UK, according to recent research by Data Centre and communications specialist, Node4.  The UK-wide survey of 250 IT strategy business decision makers in organisations of between 50-500 employees, found that 64% of Midlands-based companies give their employees the ability to work from home.

The independent research also found that 55% of businesses around the UK currently enable staff to access the corporate IT system, check email and download documents while at home.  But Midlands-based organisations are more likely to offer these capabilities, exceeding the number of companies in London, the North and Scotland that currently enable their employees to work from home.

Ian, Millward, Head of Channel Sales. Node4, commented: “It is very pleasing to see that the Midlands is leading the way in providing employees with the ability to work from home.  Our headquarters are in Derby and as an organisation we are committed to enabling our staff to work from wherever they like.  Not only does this policy enable us to hire the best talent, regardless of their location, but it also ensures that we have happier staff who benefit from a flexible working environment where their work is what they do, rather than a location.

“Empowering staff to work from home has a positive impact on both the organisation and the employee.  From a business perspective, the company benefits from greater employee productivity and increased loyalty, and staff have an improved work/life balance and spend less time commuting.

“Providing the technology to enable staff to send and receive email, get on the corporate network and essentially work as they do in the office is no longer only available to large organisations.  Companies of all sizes can now easily provide their employees with these capabilities on an op-ex based payment model, giving them access to best of breed technology at minimal cost to the business.”