Flexible-working policies put in place by many London businesses for the 2012 Olympics are likely to continue now that the Games are over.

For much of the Olympics, the centre of London was all but deserted. Tens of thousands of staff were urged to work from home, with many offices closed for the duration of the Games. As dire predictions of internet outages failed to materialise, many organisations have judged the working-from-home experiment a success.

According to a survey by Citrix of 500 small businesses, nearly half – 47 per cent – of firms that put a flexible working plan in place for the games plan to keep it or reintroduce it soon.

Three-quarters of staff who worked flexibly during the games said they had a positive experience – just five per cent had a negative experience.

Over half of businesses believe flexible working is crucial to attracting the best staff, with just under half saying it will become even more important in the next five years.

Younger staff were more likely to value flexible working, with 72 per cent of those aged between 18 and 34 years seeing it as important. Only 41 per cent of those aged 55 years and over considered it important.