Around 90 per cent of UK workers say that they prefer working outdoors to working inside an office, a new survey reveals.

A study run by Microsoft Windows Mobile revealed that outdoor locations were second behind people's homes as a location to work from - with 73 per cent saying that they consider the ability to work flexibly a deciding factor when it comes to choosing a new job.

Over half of those surveyed added that they thought that their life would be less stressful were they allowed to work from home.

"Giving people more choice is empowering, raises morale and improves the relationships between employees and their bosses - it's a win-win," said Tom Stewart, consultant with ergonomic specialists, System Concepts, as he explained how employees are happier and more productive when choosing their own environment.

Systems Concepts recently carried out research which showed that laptop users generally have fewer complaints about their health than PC users.

"This is because they use them to work more flexibly and they are not tied to their desk in the same way," Mr Stewart added.