While it's implicit, Cisco didn't state the obvious fact that increased workforce telecommuting would boost bandwidth usage, which in turn could stoke additional sales of networking equipment.

According to Cisco's Internet Business Services Group, the firm's consulting unit, Cisco employees spend about 63% of their time communicating and collaborating and 40% of the employees are not in the same location as their managers. The report surveyed employees across Cisco's global operations in North America, Europe, Japan, and Asia Pacific.

The report noted that the company has saved an estimated $277 million in productivity by allowing employees to telecommute and telework.

One advantage of telecommuting, of course, is the time employees don't have to spend in traffic commuting. Cisco employees in the U.S. and Canada said their average round-trip commute is 30 miles. On the high end, European Cisco employees reported a 46-mile round-trip commute while the shortest commutes for Cisco employees were for 14 round-trip miles in Asia Pacific countries.

The survey also revealed that telecommuting Cisco employees prevented more than 47,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas being releases.