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The majority of business leaders are comfortable working from home, with around two-thirds saying it helps to boost their productivity.

A poll of 800 members of the Institute of Directors (IoD) also found that 84 per cent had an office or equivalent at home while 75 per cent have a flexible working policy that extends to staff.

Understandably the main reason people gave for working from home is a horrendous commute to the office, which around a third of respondents said swung it for them.

However, in spite of the obvious advantages for working parents, on a closer inspection it becomes clear there are still barriers to flexible working.

Over 60 per cent said corporate culture discriminated against homeworkers, while two-fifths could not have access to the company's computer network, hindering communication.

Stuart Logan, HR director for Avaya, which commissioned the survey, said the results showed a "definite challenge" still faced the idea of flexible working and it could only "flourish in an environment of trust".

An additional advantage of having someone home throughout the day is cheaper home insurance if you let your home insurance company know.

Make sure any expensive equipment such as computers are covered adequately in your cheap home insurance evaluation, and perhaps invest in extra security for your home office space.