The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics recently reported that the average work day for an employed person is 7.6 hours. While employers may bemoan the death of the eight-hour work day, consider these factors before insisting that your employees be in the office from 9 to 5:

• The average daily commute is 50 minutes roundtrip. Many employees use this time to organize their work day, check and respond to emails via their Blackberries or laptops (hopefully while using public transportation, not driving), and make calls to clients and peers.
• More than two thirds of Americans own cell phones, which keep workers connected to clients, co-workers and the office 24x7. Many of these phones have email and office application capabilities, increasing the reach of the workplace into all aspects of an employee’s work and leisure time.
• Many companies provide their workforce with laptops and docking stations, so they can take their work home and on the road. For those that don’t, there are other options: 80 percent of U.S. households have at least one personal computer, two-thirds have Internet access, and 75 percent of Internet users have broadband access. Virtual private networks (VPNs) make it easy and cost-effective to have secure, remote access to email, applications and even desktops.

Government statistics indicate that worker productivity is on the rise, despite the reported death of the eight-hour work day. As an employer, you may want to review and revise your office policies to provide and encourage flexibility. Not only could you improve employee satisfaction and productivity, this will also show that you understand fact from fable.