Many employees want the option to telecommute. But execs and managers often resist the idea. Maybe they can work out a deal:

A large chunk of workers would accept a lower salary in exchange for the opportunity to work from home, according to a recent survey by Citrix Online. About 21% of respondents said they’d take a 5% pay cut if they could telecommute one or two days a week.

In these days of limited staffing budgets, that could give employers some option for cutting wages. It could also be a way to attract talent when you have little room for salary negotiations.

Some other findings from the survey:

• 75% of employees want the freedom to work remotely.
• 56% have never been able to telecommute.
• Managers’ most common arguments against telecommuting include: Job duties demand office attendance (cited by 38% of managers), remote work hurts relationship-building (19%) and productivity will decline if employees work from home (15%).

Tags: Citrix, recruiting, work from home, working remotely