As businesses approach Telework Week 2014, employers and employees will make commitments to increase telecommuting and productivity, while decreasing commute times and stress. A survey of U.S.-based customers and knowledge workers by PGi, a leading global provider of collaboration software and services for more than 20 years, found that telecommuting employees see improvements in stress level (82 percent), morale (80 percent), productivity (70 percent) and absenteeism (69 percent).

PGi's survey showed that telecommuting is widespread among businesses with knowledge workers:

• 80% of respondents report that their office allows telecommuting.
• 71% participate in the telecommuting program.
• 50% telecommute one day per week.
• 22% telecommute five or more days per week.

Technology powers telework, with 91 percent of telecommuting respondents using a company-issued laptop. Other popular technologies issued by employers are:

• 76% VPN access to company data.
• 75% web conferencing tools.
• 62% cellphone or smartphone.

"The findings confirm what we at PGi have always known to be true: Telecommuting provides important emotional benefits for employees, while at the same time delivering meaningful operational improvements for businesses," said Sean O'Brien, EVP of strategy & communications for PGi. "Instead of insisting on 9-to-5 hours in an office, our customers are increasingly adopting virtual collaboration technologies, like iMeet and GlobalMeet, to provide rich online engagement and to empower their 'anywhere workers' to work smarter and be more productive. We expect that this trend will continue as companies worldwide understand the value and benefits of adopting flexible work models."