14. Advantages of teleworking

For individuals

- You can work the hours you want, so if you like to get up at 6am and finish by lunchtime, you can do that. Likewise, if you are a sleepyhead, you can stay in bed until noon and work until late in the evening.

- It makes possible to work around family commitments, for example young children or elderly parents.

- You can take a break when you want one. You can stop to chat to a friend if the phone rings or watch something on the TV.

- It saves a huge amount of time that would normally be spent travelling to work. There is no need to spend an hour each morning and evening stuck in traffic jams. You can spend that time working instead.

- You save the cost of petrol that you would normally need to travel to work and also the cost of car parking tickets.

For the company

- They can employ people who don't live near to the office. This means they can choose people who might be willing to work for lower wages. They can even employ people from other countries.

- If there is a shortage of skilled labour in the local area then they can get the skilled staff that they need from elsewhere in the country

- they might be able to keep hold of valuable members of staff who might otherwise leave, for example, women who have just had a baby.

- they can have smaller premises so they save money on rent, car parking space, heat etc.

- they get workers who might be more satisified with their jobs and thus be more committed or work harder.