British workers could save hundreds of pounds every year by working from home one day every week, according to a report.

Microsoft-commissioned research found that only one third of 'knowledge' workers in the UK were able to work from home one day a week.

The company worked out that an average commute costs £5 per day, with lunch costing £4, totalling a spend of over £2,000 a year.

Microsoft pointed out that businesses could save on direct business costs such as office rent, IT support and utility payments by allowing employees to work remotely and called on employers to be more flexible.

"With technology making it relatively easy to work away from the office, surely it's time to change our national fixation with the nine-to-five mentality?" said James McCarthy, mobility expert at Microsoft UK.

Petra Wilton, director of Policy and Research at the Chartered Management Institute said: "The introduction of flexible working patterns will certainly go a long way towards creating more mobile managers, and should both boost morale and increase productivity in the workplace."

www.microsoft.com

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