Workers, wi-fi and coffee shops: The perfect blend

A quarter of workers now take advantage of wi-fi hotspots, working remotely from a coffee shop at least one day per week to escape the interruptions of the office.

The survey of 1,000 business people found the main reasons for spending the day hunched over a laptop sipping skinny lattes at the local Starbucks include avoiding interruptions (24 per cent) and having more space to work and meet (18 per cent).

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Almost half of respondents (47 per cent) said they had worked from a coffee shop because they were travelling and 44 per cent said cafes provide a more informal business setting for meetings.

The ICM survey was commissioned by BT to mark the launch of BT Openzone wi-fi going live in more than 330 Caffè Nero coffee shops across the UK.

BT Openzone replaces the Surf and Sip wi-fi service previously used by Caffè Nero.

Jonathan Hart, MD of Caffè Nero, said in a statement: "This research confirms a trend we see everyday as more office staff come into our stores to work."