The UK’s business productivity is at risk because employers continually fail to trust their staff to work flexibly, according to a report from YouGov and Microsoft.

It found Britain’s “archaic office-bound, nine to five work mentality” is forcing more than 70% of employees to needlessly travel an additional 45 minutes during rush hour, raking up an average of 15 hours per worker wasted each month.

In addition it found 15% of Britain’s workforce is late for work at least once a week as a result of congestion and delays, impacting the country’s productivity.

The report encourages British business to adopt a more flexible approach, for example allowing employees to work from home for the first and last hour of each working day to reduce the effects of the daily commute.

A study by the RAC foundation found that peak traffic could be cut by 10% over the next five years through flexible working.