With 72% of workers outside of London commuting daily to get to work and 22% of car trips made solely for the use of getting to and from work, Halifax General Insurance is urging commuters to recognise that working from home may be a viable alternative for them. This week is National 'Work from Home' week.

According to research by Halifax General Insurance, more and more people are opting to work from home known as teleworking for one or more days each week, thereby offering another option to the daily commuter slog. The so-called '3 Day Commuters' are now commonplace.

Recent statistics from an Office for National Statistics Labour Force Survey showed that, out of almost 2,000 workers that responded to the survey held in 2003:

• 44% of people work mainly from home in their main job.
• 41% work in various locations but use their home as a base.
• 84% work from home at least one day per week.

There are a number of benefits that working at home can offer, including peoples desire to avoid the twice-daily congestion on Britains roads and the crush of overcrowded trains.

Readily available technology, such as the home PC, which provides Internet access and email, means that people can work just as effectively from home as from the office. What's more, new government legislation allows the parents of young children to request the right to work from home at least some of the time.

Teleworking is just one of the flexible working measures in the Employment Act (2002) which came into being on April 6th, 2003. The Act gives a right to both male and female employees with children under six years of age to apply to their employers to be offered flexible working practices.

Teleworking is not just becoming popular in the UK, but also throughout Europe with many people requesting to work from home for at least one or two days a week. Insurance companies are also becoming more flexible in allowing people to use a room at their home as an office.

Howard Posner, Managing Director of Halifax General Insurance, said: “Its becoming easier to work from home and we are certainly seeing an increase in the number of enquiries we receive from our policyholders requesting details of how to insure their office equipment."

"In reality all you need to be able to work from home is a telephone and a PC with Internet access.”

It certainly makes sense if you can set aside an area or, better still, a room for an office at home, to prevent your work from encroaching on the rest of the house and your daily life.

As a home office is likely to contain a range of expensive electronic equipment and furniture, it is important that all workers address their household insurance policy.

Howard Posner added: “If you do decide that working from home is for you, make sure that all your equipment is well protected: not only from fire and theft, but also accidental damage from inquisitive little fingers!”

And for those who telework already, or are considering working from home, Halifax General Insurance offers the following tips to improve day-to-day efficiency:

• Keep work space separate from living space: this means using either a different building or a delegated room as an office, if possible.
• Separate work time from leisure time: stick to set office hours, letting the answer machine and email pick up messages out of hours and allowing time for family and friends.
• Use software to simplify daily tasks: for example, Microsoft Outlook can take care of appointments, contacts, reminders and emails; also, accounting packages such as QuickBooks, Sage, or TAS can look after book-keeping by tracking invoices and producing reports for a personal accountant and/or the Inland Revenue.
• Keep all workspace tidy: by picking the right equipment and furniture, including cable-free connections, you will free up large amounts of space, ensuring you have room to move about.
• Manage time effectively: schedule and prioritise tasks – don’t let emails and post take over half the day. Allocate time slots to do certain things and set reminders on your PC if necessary.
• Try to make the working environment as comfortable and personal as possible: this includes having the right kind of pictures and even music.
• If all else fails, try some Fung Shui by re-arranging your office in a special way to create good karma and, hopefully, improve your work.
• Finally, check your home insurance policy to make sure you are adequately covered for items on your home office.