British workers, fearful of losing their job in the worsening economic climate, are shunning remote working so that they can look busy in front of their bosses, according to a Microsoft survey.

But, ironically, their bosses are likely to be working at home. The survey shows that, though there is a widespread belief that working remotely helps people do more, senior managers are three times more likely to do so than other staff.

Only one in ten of staff questioned said they had the freedom to work away from the office, and 13 per cent reported that they were discouraged from doing so.

The number of firms claiming to offer some form of remote working fell from nearly 60 per cent last year to just under 50 per cent, according to the survey by Microsoft's Windows Mobile division.

The release of the survey results was timed for the opening of nominations for Microsoft's 2008 People Moving Business Awards.

Microsoft mobility spokesperson James McCarthy said that it has got to the point where 'presenteeism' rather than absenteeism has become a problem because staff fear troubled times ahead.

"This can become a self-fulfilling prophecy, given that mobile working is shown to help increase productivity, improve worker satisfaction and actively reduce costs," he said.

The good news is that managers do not have major concerns about remote working. Although some feared the quality of work would suffer, 30 per cent could see no risks at all.