Commute to work? No way . . .: Teleworking is growing. Catherine Pepinster plugs in and switches on

Not all Londoners were affected by yesterday's rail strike. For the capital's swelling ranks of 'teleworkers', it was business as usual.

Many of the city's biggest employers - in banking, insurance, technology, and computing - are cutting costs by encouraging staff to work from home and from small satellite offices on the edge of town.

The trend towards teleworking could help alleviate pressures on an already overstretched public transport system and congested roads.

Rail strikes apart, neither British Rail nor London Underground has taken the impact of teleworking into consideration in devising a long-term strategy for its commuter services. Nor has the property industry really understood the impact teleworking could have on demand for space in the city.

The change is expected to have serious consequences for London. Office blocks which have never been occupied since they were built, could quickly become redundant. A recent report by the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions warns that this is not just unfortunate for property developers, but will affect the economy of the city. As middle-class professionals move out, the demand for sandwich bars, restaurants and entertainment decreases.

This could lead to no-go areas, rising crime, and longer dole queues. The solution, it says, is to find new uses for the empty space left behind. In the past few years several office blocks have been successfully converted into city-centre apartments.

A study carried out for the Social and Economic Research Council by Sussex University says up to 2 million people across Britain are now working from home, linked to their offices by computer technology.

Companies already using, or are seriously considering teleworking or flexible working, include Shell, the BBC, NatWest Bank, Digital, and BT and Mercury, which are both advising other employers on its merits. Mercury is advising 35 companies on setting up teleworking systems. It has 125 companies on its books which have already relocated staff.

Chris Ridgewell, manager of Mercury's flexible working applications group, says these decisions will have enormous implications for all of us. 'It's cheap and economic and it also changes working patterns and relationships. People have talked about this for years, but now it really is happening.

Digital is one of the most advanced teleworker com-panies. More than half its 4,000 employers work from home or are involved in flexible working for part of the working week.

Ian Christie, Digital's flexible working services marketing manager, said: 'For most jobs, it's more efficient to work like this. It does save us money, but it's crucial to implement it properly. People need motivation, and some have homes where this sort of work isn't feasible.'

The Henley Management College's Future Work Forum has monitored the development of teleworking, and Peter Thompson, one of its members, believes it will have a lasting impact on the life of the capital. 'The gap between face-to-face working and working via a screen is being closed. The time will come when the only reason to go into town is to get the latest gossip in the wine bar.

'People will be able to spend a few hours teleworking, go into town on an off-peak train, and return on another off-peak train.

'The days of struggling through the rush hour will be behind them.'

So will London become a deserted city, emptied of commuters with high disposable incomes?

Val Tyler, who has studied the development of teleworking for the Industrial Society, predicts the change will be beneficial.

'It won't be a ghost town but in future, people need spend only two days commuting instead of five.

'They can then make the best of both worlds . . . enjoying working flexible hours, yet avoiding the isolation that full-time home working may bring.'

TOP MARKS FOR HOMEWORK

Ian Lunn was gloating yesterday. Safely ensconced in his spare bedroom, which doubles as a makeshift office, he managed to get through mountains of paperwork without the pain of facing the chaotic commuter traffic in central London.

Mr Lunn, the One Call product manager for Mercury Communications, works from his home at Battersea one day a week. He has a phone and a fax which doubles as a photocopier, a laptop computer and a printer which allow him to stay in touch with his head office at Red Lion Square, Holborn.

When he realised yesterday's rail strike would prevent him commuting into central London from Clapham Junction, he arranged to work from his home.

'I have been doing so for two-and-a-half years, and it's definitely become more popular; many of my colleagues are doing the same thing. I get much more done at home because I'm not being constantly interrupted.

Corinne Thomas used to dread her journeys to work at her City stockbroker firm. She was tense and worn out before the day even began. Now her journey to work consists of crossing her house to her own office, complete with fax, telephone and computer. She is a telework supervisor for Enfield council. The north London borough decided to transfer some of its finance department work to teleworkers five years ago when it had a backlog of poll tax paperwork.

Since then, teleworkers have been brought in to process housing benefit applications and council tax rebates. When the experiment began, Enfield had 1,100 applications for just 15 jobs. Now there are 52 people working from home, including Corinne Thomas and other supervisors.

Many teleworkers suffer from isolation and feel they must always be working. But Corinne Thomas spends half her week visiting other staff to supervise their work. These visits also help prevent their feelings of isolation.

Setting up her own office has helped ensure the work does not intrude on the rest of her life, although she found it more difficult when she used a spare bedroom - as many teleworkers do. Equipment, furniture and stationery are all

supplied by her employer.

She said: 'It suits me to do this kind of work. I don't have to waste time travelling, and now I have children, I find the the work-time is much more flexible. You can fit it in around them. But I still need childcare. I can't do the job properly and look after the children at the same time.

FACT PACK

One in five Britons spends at least some of the week working from home.

Two in five workers would be prepared to work from home. More women (45 per cent) than men (37) want to. By 1995, some 2.25m people may be teleworking at least three days a week.

ADVANTAGES:

Most popular reasons among workers are flexibility of time (52 per cent), less travel time (45), fewer commuting costs (44), and convenience (41). A third of workers felt they would be more efficient at home; over a quarter found it easier to concentrate.

DISADVANTAGES:

61 per cent of those surveyed felt unable to ask employers' permission;

70 per cent of companies using teleworkers supplied no equipment for them;

28 per cent of teleworkers would prefer to work in an office. Complaints included isolation, the need for self-discipline and an increased threat of distractions.

ENVIRONMENT:

Over 222bn kilometres of UK travel is by car commuters who burn

30m gallons of fuel per workday. A 10 per cent increase in teleworkers could cut emitted exhaust by 240m gallons daily.

But 'office homes may be less energy-efficient.

(Photograph omitted)