MORE employers are freeing their staff from the drudgery of the daily commute, a survey has revealed.

And a Huddersfield businessman is among those feeling the benefits.

Research commissioned by flexible workspace provider Regus found that almost a third of Yorkshire professionals are now able to work from locations other than the company’s main offices for at least half the week.

This helps them reduce the cost and stress of commuting and reclaim the hours lost in limbo between their work and home lives.

The research also shows that a quarter put in longer hours for their employer now that they don’t have to commute every day, highlighting the link between flexible working and productivity.

Regus said the findings provided clear evidence that “corporate culture is finally throwing off the shackles of rigid twentieth-century working practices and reaping the benefits”.

However, many employees’ aspirations to reduce the frequency of their commute are thwarted by employer attitudes. Almost one in five of those asked cited “company culture” as the main reason for single location working, implying the perceived need to be seen at their desk.

This is despite the fact that two in five respondents report that they have all the tools and technology they need to work anywhere.

Regus said many firms equated flexible working with home working. However, this was often an unpopular and impractical option for staff who missed the social interaction of the office and the clear separation of their professional and personal life.

Previous research showed that fewer than 10% of professionals wanted to work from home.

For the one in three Yorkshire professionals who are genuine flexible workers, the key to success is having a choice of “third places” – neither their home nor their office - such as local business centres, libraries and co-working hubs that allow them to avoid domestic distractions without a commute.

David de Livio, the Huddersfield-based regional director of Spectrum Ltd, a recruitment company specialising in construction, said: “We’re a Manchester-based company, but recent expansion meant we needed additional space in Leeds so I could cover business in Yorkshire and Humberside.

“For about six weeks I had been commuting from Huddersfield to Manchester and back which was exhausting. I’m now based in the Regus centre in Leeds City West. It’s pretty central and accessible and it was easy to set up and ready to move in.

“By being in Leeds I can save about 60 miles a day in travel, so it makes a lot of geographical and logistical sense to have a base in the city.

“It also means I can dedicate more time to work as I don’t waste so much time travelling.”

As well as bringing benefits to the employer, the research said that cutting the commute helped staff improve their work-life balance.

Some 73% said they were spending more time with partner and family and 63% were spending more time exercising and getting fitter.

Steve Purdy, UK managing director at Regus, said: “Local commuters are only too familiar with the stress, expense and long hours associated with relying on public transport infrastructure.

“Across the country, the number of professionals able to choose between different work locations is substantial. But there is still much progress to be made to help all workers benefit from more flexible conditions.

“This is especially true when the win-win benefits of slashing commutes are analysed.”

He said: “Congestion is reported to be one of the major sources of stress, so it is very significant that workers reveal that the time saved on commuting would be spent on health and wellbeing activities such as getting fitter at the gym and spending time with family.

“Confirming previous Regus research linking happier and healthier workers to greater productivity, more than half of professionals say they would devote at least some of the time saved on gruelling commutes to working more.

“So the benefits of flexible working are two-fold, on the one hand workers are more relaxed and healthy and on the other they are also more productive benefiting the business, too.”