Staff who work from home have a better quality of life and feel more productive.

Even though they have more leisure time, their productivity outstrips those tied to an office.

Research among home workers employed by BT found the advantages of working from home far outweighed the drawbacks of being away from the office, such as missing career development opportunities.

More than 90 per cent of so-called flexiworkers who were surveyed said they worked more productively, but also found time to help around the home.

Most said they worked longer hours but they still had more free time because they didn't have to commute.

Comments included:

"There is less stress and I can spend more time with the family" and "I can take the children to school and see them awake during the week."

Some said their wives had been able to return to work because they could take on domestic duties such as hanging out washing during lunch breaks.

But there was a downside, with some workers saying they felt isolated from "social and professional interaction" in the office, which they found demotivating.

One respondent complained his fitness had suffered because he used to run ten miles a day to the office and back but only had to walk into his front room now.

Adrian Hosford, director of group social policy at BT said the survey, one of the largest of its kind, reinforced the importance of flexible working.

He said: "Flexiworking appears to be a mutually-beneficial activity which is also creating economic, environmental and social benefits.

"Most staff said they were enjoying an improved quality of life, reduced stress, feeling more productive and BT is benefiting from higher employee productivity and morale as well as lower absenteeism."

The findings were echoed in a report from trade union Amicus.

It carried out research among 2,000 union health and safety representatives which showed half believed stress was a growing problem.

The union said stress was much higher than five years ago, Three out of four of the officials the union surveyed had raised stress-related issues with their employers, but only one in three firms accepted responsibility for tackling the problem.

Amicus said most employers would rather deal with the symptoms rather than the causes, with few offering to reduce hours or introduce flexible working.

One in four people said work was too stressful, according to a British Safety Council (BSC) survey.

The poll found stress affected 40 per cent of 16 to 34-year-olds and industry lost 90 million working days a year because of its effects at work.

A third of the workforce is now affected, according to the BSC.

Deputy director general Jim Brett said smiling relieved stress by sending happy chemicals called endorphins to the brain but few people felt like smiling when they are at work.

Research carried out by Connect Support Services revealed 80 per cent of people working with computers felt information technology problems made their day more stressful and 84 per cent said it had a negative effect on their productivity.