FIRMS are urged to consider allowing their staff to work more flexibly, following new research.

The results of a survey by Your Communications showed that employees were more productive if they started work at 6am rather than the more typical 9am to 5pm.

A survey of 2,000 adults showed most believed they were most productive between 6am and 3pm, while only one in 20 preferred to be in work between 3pm and 6pm.

Almost half believed they could do their job as effectively from home.

One company in Swindon which is seeing the benefits of flexible working hours is the Nationwide Building Society.

Spokeswoman Sarah King said: "Nationwide was a founder member of the Employers Forum for Work-Life Balance and as a result we have a number of family-friendly policies from which both employee and employer benefit."

Ms King pointed out that although some employees stick to a 9am to 5pm working week others are able to work four days a week with slightly longer hours each day to encourage people to improve their work/life balance.

Paul Lawton, marketing director at Your Communications, said: "Most workers believe they work more effectively at different times of the day.

"By taking a more open-minded approach to flexible work patterns, employers can bring about business benefits and strengthen employee loyalty.

"Technology is the vital ingredient, making this kind of flexible work arrangement possible.

"Telecoms users and providers alike should look beyond the obvious technology benefits of productivity and efficiency and consider the opportunities to enhance employees' work-life balance."

Yet despite these ideas, the long hours culture of British workers is showing no signs of letting up.

One in four employees is putting in a 50-hour week, with some office staff working more than 70 hours a week.

Research also showed that more than a third were also taking work home in the evening and at weekends.

The survey, which asked 2,600 employees in the UK, the US, Australia, Germany and France, showed staff in this country were working the longest hours in Europe.

Almost a third of the British workers questioned said they believed time was wasted in their offices.

Eight per cent of British office workers said their boss was paid too much for doing too little, and two thirds believed they worked harder than their superiors the highest number of anywhere in the world.

Swindon Chamber of Commerce chief executive Dennis Grant said: "The 9am to 5pm is now a dead concept. We continue because it is a tradition we are all used to, but if you look around at the majority of Europe things are different.

"Today we all live 24/7, we can shop 24 hours a day so why can't working hours change too? We need to address this fixation with hours before we lag behind."