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Although more people are working away from the office, only 40 percent of businesses have a formal policy on telecommuting, this recent Microsoft Corp. survey shows. Saving gasoline, avoiding long commutes and working in a less stressful environment are the top reasons workers log in away from the office.

“Businesses that give employees the support to work remotely could save 10 percent to 20 percent on office expenses”, said Michael Clark, Microsoft’s Western regional manager of midmarket customers.

“I’ve walked (into offices) and there are cubicles for people there only one day a week or one day a month,” he said. “Businesses could cut back on office space, cut back on travel expenses and the cost of provisioning phone lines.”

Clark speaks from experience; he spends more than half of his work time away from the office.

“The trend is that more and more workers today are mobile,” Clark said in a telephone interview. “That’s just a reality and is becoming accepted in the general marketplace. Businesses are asking, ‘How do I support workers remotely and what are my security risks?’”

Evolving technology is easing concerns about security. Clark cites significant improvements in encryption programs that protect data and network access protection that provides safe access for employees while away from the office.

“We’ve all heard stories of a government laptop being stolen and all the Social Security numbers that are on it,” he said.

Clark said computers using an encryption program such as BitLocker Drive from Microsoft, are protected from hackers or thieves.

“Working at home is as safe as working at work,” Clark said. “Businesses can regain customer trust and feel confident that the data that goes with that employee outside the walls is protected.”

Changes to telephony have also made it easier to work remotely. Clark said he uses a voice over Internet protocol telephone connected to his laptop and a live messenger program to chat with co-workers and clients while working remotely.

The survey of 25 midsized cities has San Diego in the top spot for remote workers, followed by West Palm Beach, Fla.; Buffalo, N.Y.; and Salt Lake City. Las Vegas ranked 25th.

Here are the rankings from the Microsoft Remote Working Survey of Midsized Cities:
1. San Diego
2. West Palm Beach, Fla.
3. Buffalo, N.Y.
4. Salt Lake City
5. Raleigh, N.C.
6. Oklahoma City
7. Nashville, Tenn.
8. Charleston, S.C.
9. Greensboro, N.C.
10. Hartford-New Haven, Conn.
11. Columbus, Ohio
12. Greenville, N.C.-S.C.
13. Harrisburg, Pa.
14. Milwaukee
15. San Antonio
16. Norfolk, Va.
17. Kansas City, Mo.-Kan.
18. Birmingham, Ala.
19. Memphis, Tenn.
20. Albuquerque, N.M.
21. Cincinnati
22. Louisville, Ky.
23. New Orleans
24. Grand Rapids, Mich.
25. Las Vegas

Survey highlights (from the Microsoft press release):

Employers

— Most employers do not have a remote-working policy; 39.4 percent actually have a policy detailing or enabling remote work.
— Sixty-eight percent of companies in Buffalo, N.Y., remote-working policies.

— Respondents in most cities see employers as being slightly positive about remote-working programs, with a mean of 5.5 on a scale in which 1 equals not supportive and 10 equals very supportive.

— When compared with respondents from other cities, those in San Diego and Buffalo, N.Y., see their employers as being more supportive, with statistically higher means in the “supportive” range (7.02 and 6.82, respectively).

— When compared with responses from other cities, employers in Las Vegas are seen as less supportive, with a significantly lower mean of 4.04.

Managers

— Respondents generally felt that their manager (67.4 percent) was more supportive than their peers or colleagues (61.2 percent).

— Salt Lake City respondents reported significant support by bosses or managers, as did West Palm Beach, Fla.

— Compared with responses from other cities, those from New Orleans and Louisville, Ky., reported significantly less support from managers, peers or colleagues. New Orleans ranked 23rd; Louisville ranked 22nd.

Peers and Colleagues

—  San Diego, Salt Lake City, West Palm Beach, Fla., and Charleston, S.C., are significantly more supportive than the overall group.

Workers

— The top three reasons to work from home according to survey respondents are to save gasoline, be more productive and have fewer distractions.
— The data showed a significant dropoff in response after the traffic/commuting and productivity/distractions categories were removed.

— Across the board, 77.3 percent of people reported that gasoline prices increased their desire to work from home. New Orleans was significantly lower. Still, approximately 50 percent of respondents from New Orleans believed gasoline prices had an effect.

— Respondents’ preferences for working remotely are influenced by weather and seasonality.

— On average, more than 60 percent of respondents in the survey favored working from home during the winter months.

— The only two exceptions to this were Las Vegas and West Palm Beach, Fla., where respondents favored remote work during the summer, at 72 percent and 56 percent respectively.

— Regardless of region, weather was the No. 1 reason (71.7 percent) respondents gave for wanting to work remotely.

Now the concept of teleworking is getting a stronger echoe in the business – mostly due to the fact that it is a reliable initiative to help save money – maybe we can hope to see what was once considered as a very special advantage in nature granted to some employees, turn into a regular practice in most companies.