NEW DELHI: A substantial number of employees are interested in working from home with the preference more prevalent among those aged above 45 years, says a survey.

HR services provider Randstad today said that almost equal number of men and women opined that they would like telecommuting.

“53 per cent of the respondents from India said they prefer telecommuting, while 47 per cent prefer to work from the office every day,” it said citing the results of a survey on workplace flexibility. The findings are based on a survey of around 7,500 employees from India. “Almost equivalent number of male (52 per cent) and female (54 per cent) respondents mentioned that they would prefer telecommuting and this preference was high among those aged 45 years and above,” it noted. As much as 58 per cent of the respondents expressed happiness with their current work schedule and around 36 per cent said they would like to work more at a higher pay. When it comes to working hours, 40 per cent reported that they put in more than 45 hours per week. “… 46 per cent of men clock in more than 45 hours at work every week, whereas 32 per cent of women do so. On an average, women work 35 hours and men 39 hours a week,” it said. According to Randstad, 50 per cent of the respondents prefer a standard hours work a week while 37 per cent wanted variable working hours every work day. Randstad India MD and CEO Moorthy K Uppaluri said there is a lot of focus to take work to the people as opposed to bringing the people to work. “This will erase the border around organisations, thus broadly undefining the work place and offering the much wanted freedom and empowerment to the work force,” he added. According to him, clarity on what the telecommuting environment entails and what is expected out of the employees is imperative to productivity and accountability, thus ensuring efficacy of such employee-friendly policies. As per the survey, prospect of higher income is the primary motivational factor that drives Indian employees to work harder. “76 per cent of the respondents cited this factor as the main reason to work more. This was followed by promotion and personal development at 55 per cent and 42 per cent, respectively,” it added. In terms of gender, women are motivated to work more for promotions while men seek to increase their influence at work. — PTI