Working from home carries so many benefits I can’t list them all here. I did it for more than seven years and in many ways it was the happiest time of my work life.

Not having to commute during horrendous Chicago winters was one wonderful aspect of working at home, for example. Being able to cool off after disputes with an angry boss was certainly another.

Working at home can help you get through those files faster. You don’t lose time going to meeting after meeting.

So a recent list of the seven companies most likely to hire work-at-home staffers caught my eye. At the top of the list is Xerox, followed by UnitedHealth Group and Dell.

Rounding out the list are Aetna, American Express, First Data and Humana. It’s an eclectic list with three tech companies, two healthcare companies and an insurance company.

The article notes that: “With an economy based on knowledge workers, estimates suggest that a full 50% of professionals in the United States have jobs that can be performed from home. In fact, according to the most recent Census findings, the number of people who work out of their houses increased from 9.5 million in 1999 to 13.4 million in 2010, indicating that many more companies are now offering remote jobs.”

That’s good news for workers.

John N. Frank