Dr Yvette Blount, from the Macquarie University faculty of business and economics, will tell a Sydney conference on the Future of Work this week how a more mobile workforce can be realised.

Despite advances in technology, many employers have failed to embrace the much anticipated working from home revolution.

"There are still some management gaps there that we need to address," Dr Blount said.

Employment researchers including Dr Blount have found that most office managers still believe they can get the best from employees inside the workplace, where they can be seen.

"It is easy to have people in the office," Dr Blount said.

"We've been talking about telework since the 1970s. The technology is available and sophisticated and easier to use. But if we don't show there is a business case, then it starts to become a problem."

Dr Blount said a solution lies in bosses improving the performance management of remote workers, to satisfy themselves that the worker is accountable and that certain targets would be met.

"The question is how do we manage performance and productivity. How do we address that when the employee is invisible and they are not front of mind?" Dr Blunt said.

"The employee and the manager each need to understand what the expectations are and the outcome.

"I don't think we can change the culture overnight. Managing remote workers we don't know requires a different set of skills."

Dr Blount said that because they were "invisible" there was an assumption that people working from home were not working hard.

"The opposite is the case," she said. "The research says people who work this way see it as a privilege and tend to work longer hours and work on weekends and work when they are sick.

"It is more likely for remote workers to be more productive and achieve those goals.

"But there are still some management gaps there that we need to address."

By improving their ability to manage remote workers, employers could benefit by attracting and keeping valuable employees engaged in the organisation.

"Employers will have access to more skills. If you are seen as an employer of choice then you are going to be attracting people into your organisation to achieve a competitive advantage," Dr Blount said.

"If employees feel part of that culture they are going to provide better service to the client or the customer. "At the end of the day organisations are only as good as their employees."

Dr Blount said that attempts in the US to make telework mandatory through legislation had been unsuccessful.

But some Australian telcos and banks are voluntarily embracing policies that assume most jobs can be made more flexible through telework.