Of those polled by Kelton Research, 84 percent of workers said the top advantage to working remotely is being productive during travel time. The study, commissioned by Fiberlink Communications, a mobility platform provider, also states that 80 percent enjoy the freedom that comes in a telecommuting work environment.

The Fiberlink study queried 300 employees at companies with 500 or more employees who work remotely using mobile computing devices. Three out of four said the biggest benefit of working remotely is a flexible work schedule with nine out of 10 reporting a better work-life balance as a result.

I'd have to concur with the vast majority on those two benefits, and I'd even join the majority that say it'd be easier for them to to give up their car for a week than their Internet access. But other than occasionally emailing in a request for someone to unlock my VPN account, this telecommuter is fairly low-maintenance for my company's IT staff (or so this telecommuter thinks).

Not so some of you others...

Remote workers admit to risky online behavior and insecure data practices, with:

24% admitting they've altered security settings

23% saying they delay security updates on devices

43% reporting they've downloading personal photos and videos

31% acknowledge downloading software for personal use

25% cop to clicking on blacklisted or banned Web sites on company devices

Telecommuting peeps, what are you doing? You're creating nightmares for your IT department, you're opening up your enterprise to risk (thus endangering the organization from which you draw a paycheck), and you're making it hard for telecommuters everywhere by confirming the negative connotations many corporate types have about telecommuting. In other words, your sloppy practices could ruin it for all of us. Shape up.