Survey finds nearly a quarter of employees are willing to take a pay cut to work from home

A recent survey has revealed that almost one in four employees (22 per cent) would be prepared to take a pay cut to work from home. Six per cent would be prepared to take a reduction in pay of between six and 10 per cent and two per would be prepared to take a pay cut of between 16 and 20 per cent. The global online survey was carried out by Famatech, a leading provider of fast and secure remote control software for desktop and server management.

With attracting high caliber staff high on the agenda of most organizations in 2008, 83 per cent of respondents agreed that their decision whether to take a new job would be influenced by the ability to work from home.

Despite the popularity of home working, only 14 per cent of respondents stated that they are actively encouraged to work from home and 16 per cent said that home working was not allowed at all at their place of employment.

ìIt is astonishing that so few companies encourage home working despite the numerous competitive, financial and environmental benefits they can be gained from doing so. The quality of the remote access technology that is now available ensures that ëworking from homeí doesnít mean the employee will be delivering less value or getting any less work done,î says Anton Levchuk, marketing director, Famatech.

High profile cases of stolen laptops has meant many organisations are cautious about offering flexible working options for security reasons but as long as organizations take the necessary security precautions this neednít be a concern.

ìUsing remote access technology can actually increase security, enabling home workers to access corporate applications, systems and databases securely with no need to store any information on the mobile device,î says Levchuk. ìBy giving remote workers and IT administrators a more secure system from which to access workstations remotely, companies are reducing the likelihood of data loss. They can be confident that their confidential company data is safe and they arenít vulnerable to expensive breaches or law suits.î

The provision of home working offers lower operating costs and more flexibility to employers and provides employees with more family time and higher mobility and has environmental benefits due to the reduction in traveling. Beyond the benefits of offering remote working to people who choose it as a working preference, the provision of technology that enables home working can be useful when transport problems, weather, industrial strikes or someoneís personal circumstances make it difficult or even impossible for them to get in to work.