Many small businesses think that giving their staff mobiles which allow them to access email on the move would boost productivity and efficiency, a new report suggests.

Research carried out by ZDNet.co.uk and Rhetorik found that 84 per cent of small firms already used mobile email to some degree.

Furthermore, more than half of these people said that they were deploying 'push' technology to deliver mail to mobile devices.

Small businesses revealed that they liked this technology as it allowed their staff to be "always on" and ready to deal with problems as they arose.

Indeed, a quarter of small firms said that they had already equipped at least 70 per cent of their staff with push-enabled devices.

The report concluded: "This is perhaps not surprising, with usage dependent on the needs of the business, acceptance of the individuals within it and the degree of mobility amongst the general workforce."

Recently, research showed that many small business owners believed that the proliferation of broadband connections meant that they could achieve a better work-life balance.