Half of all employees now work out of the office at least once a week and more than one in four choose to work out of the office every day, new research has found.

Being able to work remotely has been boosted by faster broadband speeds and better IT infrastructure, which enable employees and business owners to access business files and information from wherever they may be.

Working out of the office has been credited with helping workers focus better on particular tasks, with fifty per cent of the people asked in the survey saying that they use their time out of the office to work on finances and planning future work and projects.

One in twenty people surveyed said that they have previously worked outside, completing their work from places such as the beach and up a mountain.

The research suggests that most people find working away from the office helps them to be more or equally productive as they would be within the office, saying that being away from the office impacts positively upon the employee’s productivity.

Steve Atwell, managing director of Sage’s small and medium business division, says: “Mobile working has broken down the barriers to business and the traditional confines of an office are a thing of the past.

“Thanks to proliferation of mobile devices and sophisticated software solutions accessible on any device, people have the freedom to choose where they run their business – be it the boardroom, bedroom or a hilltop.”