One of the hardest obstacles for companies to overcome when debating telecommuting is whether employees will be actually working or just lounging on the couch watching daytime TV. A new study from Brigham Young University reveals telecommuters who have flextime have better work-life balance.

The study looked at 24,436 IBM employees in 75 countries to determine at what point 25 percent of those employees said work was interfering with personal and family life. Office workers said their tipping point was 38 hours a week. Employees who had a flexible schedule and the option to telecommute, they could work 57 hours per week before reporting a conflict between work and family balance.

Nineteen hours is a pretty significant difference and truly proves the benefits of flextime and telecommuting.  Many workers appreciate being able to set their own schedules and simply complete their work – whether they do it at 8 a.m. or 8 p.m.

Employers have long been caught up in the concept of set work hours and “punching the clock,” but this study helps prove employees do better when given the flexibility to work and to work from home – and they even work more.

According to one of the BYU researchers, “A down economy may actually give impetus to flexibility because most options save money or are cost-neutral. Flexible work options are associated with higher job satisfaction, boosting morale when it may be suffering in a down economy.”

Do your employees telecommute? Do you offer flextime?