The majority of UK employees rate flexible working practices as more important than added financial incentives to their overall happiness at work, according to a leading recruitment industry expert.

The rise of mobile working technologies and linked IT networking practices has opened the door for many firms to offer more flexible working hours and home-working options, yet around 70 per cent of UK employees are still confined to the office throughout their working week.

According to Alan Townsend, chief operations officer for the UK and Ireland branch of leading online job board Monster, all businesses can now consider improving their IT support and flexible working practices in order to be able to offer staff the option to stay in touch even when out of the office.

"A recent Monster poll has shown that 60 per cent of respondents rate flexible working as their most desirable benefit, while only 22 per cent would prefer a bonus and 14 per cent a pension or healthcare," said Mr Townsend.

"Small businesses are generally just as capable as large corporations at enabling employees to work flexibly.

"In many instances, smaller companies are more flexible as they look to save costs on office space."

Other non-financial benefits that Mr Townsend recommended as simple steps for improving workplace morale included more recognition for hard work at staff meetings, relaxed dress codes on Fridays and small gifts or even days off on people's birthdays.

In a recent survey of SMEs for Connect, the two most important benefits of outsourcing were 'guaranteed response times' and 'allowing in-house IT staff to concentrate on more strategic issues'