Contractors who work from home could be more productive than their office-bound colleagues, new research suggests.

A survey by Dymo found that over half of office workers send personal emails, 42 per cent make personal phone calls, 55 per cent browse the internet and over a third partake in internet banking during their working day.

In contrast, those working from home exhibit a higher level of self-discipline with only 39 per cent emailing friends and under a third making personal phone calls.

Home workers are also much less likely to procrastinate on the internet and shop or do internet banking during working hours.

Shirley Borrett, the Telework Association's development director said: "If an employee is trusted to work at home, then they tend to have a good relationship with their manager and they value both that trust and the practical ability to fit work around their lives."

In addition, a survey conducted by the Telework Association showed that 85 per cent of workers say their production speed increases when they work from home.