Full-timers envy SMB's remote working bliss

A survey by Sweeney Research commissioned by Cisco WebEx found over a third of owners or partners of SMBs worked away from the primary workplace at least three times a week.

The survey defined SMBs as having between 20 and 199 staff.

Almost half of the 400 surveyed said they worked outside of their normal hours every day and take work home with them at least once a week.

Around the same percentage also said that remote working provides "a better work-life balance" for employees of SMBs.

Joseph Sweeney, an analyst at IBRS (unrelated to Sweeney Research), said: "While small business owners recognise the importance of offering a flexible work environment, they are behind the times when it comes to implementing remote working practices.

"Many simply don't know the first steps to take and face challenges in finding the right tools to use," he said.

A second set of research figures released by rival Citrix Online also showed SMB owners benefit from remote working opportunities, with 64 per cent doing it "frequently".

But the Citrix survey found that other workers, particularly those other than SMB owners, aren't so lucky.

The survey found 58 per cent of Australian full-time workers would like to work from home, but two thirds ‘never' have the ability to work remotely.

In addition, 16 per cent of Australian workers and 17 per cent of small business owners said they would give up five per cent of their salary to work from home one to two days a week.