A new survey shows employees are really willing to give up a lot for the privilege of being able to work from home.

At least 40% of current telecommuters said they’d rather take a pay cut than stop working from home, found a recent survey of 140 telecommuters by Staples Advantage, the business-to-business division of Staples, Inc.

Nearly three out of four workers (74%) said they’d accept a pay cut in the 2% to 5% range to be able to telecommute, while one in five workers (20%) would part with 10% of their pay for the same opportunity.

A large number of respondents also said they’d give up their favorite TV show (54%) and their favorite food (40%) if it meant they could continue to telecommute.

Health, happiness, productivity

Other highlights of the survey:

• Telecommuters say their stress levels have dropped 25% on average since working from home
• 73% say they eat healthier when working from home
• 76% say they’re more willing to work longer hours because they no longer spend time commuting
• 76% also say they are more loyal to their company since telecommuting, and
• 80% say they have better work/life balance.

Creating a home office

One of the concerns companies have about offering their employees the ability to telecommute is the expense involved in setting up home offices.

But as it turns out, many employees are willing to take on the expenses themselves:

• 87% of telecommuters say they provide their own office furniture
• 60% provide their own office equipment, and
• 57% purchase their own supplies.

Tags: health, pay cut, productivity, Staples, Staples Advantage, telecommuters, work/life balance