Britain is embracing a more flexible working week and turning into a nation of homeworkers, according to a survey by home insurance company, Zurich.

The research found that 30% of full-time employees surveyed spend time during the month working from home, clocking up an average of 15.73 hours or nearly 10% of the working month in the home office.

It found that 10% of the ad hoc homeworkers surveyed spend more than 40 hours each month working from home and 4% clock up more than 80 hours.

The study found that avoiding the commute to and from work is the most popular reason for homeworking, with 66% of respondents citing it as an advantage. Peace and quiet from colleagues (55%), freedom to choose working hours (50%), flexibility (48%) and lack of distractions (46%) complete the top five reasons for home working. Those surveyed also appreciate a few home comforts; 22% welcome the chance for a lie-in, while 8% tune into daytime television during their working day.

It found that the trend looks to become more popular in the coming year, with a third of ad hoc homeworkers expecting to spend more time working from home than they have in the past twelve months.