Allowing staff to work from home two days a week could collectively save the UK £32 billion a year, according to new research from the Telework Research Network (TRN).

The research report – 'The Shifting Nature of Work in the UK: Bottom Line Benefits’ – also finds that businesses which allow their staff to work at home two days a week see productivity rise by 20 per cent on average and see a 15 per cent reduction in property costs. Absenteeism rates also fall seven per cent on average, the report says.

TRN finds that two out of three jobs in the UK are compatible with homeworking, although only 4.9 per cent of employees currently work from home. Overall, 12.8 per cent of the population, including the self-employed, work at home.

Principal Investigator Kate Lister, said, "Across the UK, if those with compatible jobs and the desire to do so worked at home just two days a week, it would be the equivalent of taking two-thirds of London workers off the road. Individual, company, and community savings would total over £32 billion a year."

Andy Lake, Editor of Flexibility, said that the Government should lead the way on working from home. He said if office-based civil servants worked from home two days a week the national deficit could be reduced by £1.3 billion through reduced overheads and increased productivity.