In the report, Work Without Walls, more than 4,500 IT workers from 15 cities were surveyed to determine the top-ranked teleworking cities. Out of the 4,500 respondents, more than half said their companies have adopted a telework policy.
“Telework is no longer a company perk for employees, but a business imperative,” Ron Markezich, corporate vice president of Microsoft’s U.S. Enterprise and Partner Group, said in a statement. “Ten years ago, it was seen more as an employee benefit. Today, businesses around the world are seeing telework as a necessity.”
He said companies benefit from adopting telework policies because productivity improves, employee diversity increases and overhead costs drop.
Atlanta topped the list as the U.S.’ most telework-friendly city because information workers telework five days a month — one more day than the national average, according to a Microsoft announcement. The city also reported “the highest support levels from colleagues and the highest use of secure internal social networking tools to collaborate with customers.”
The survey’s index figures are based on preferences for teleworking, company policies supporting remote working and the technologies behind teleworking. The top 15 cities are as follows:
1. Atlanta 109.07
2. Dallas 105.91
3. Phoenix: 105.06
4. Seattle: 102.74
5. Denver: 102.53
6. Boston: 101.90
7. Washington, D.C.: 101.48
8. San Francisco: 101.27
9. Houston: 100.42
10. Minneapolis: 98.95
11. New York City: 95.78
12. Philadelphia: 95.36
13. Los Angeles: 94.3
14. Detroit: 92.41
15. Chicago: 91.98
