Home is not only where the heart is; for one in nine Scottish workers it is also where their work is.

A rise in the numbers who choose, or are allowed to, work from home was shown in findings from the Scottish Household Survey, issued yesterday by Scottish Government statisticians.

The trend has been upward since the question was first asked nine years ago, when one in 14 workers were counted as home workers for at least part of the working week.

A major factor behind the change has been the growth in access to broadband, which is now linked to 44% of homes throughout Britain.

The move to home working, or tele-commuting, is being encouraged by the Scottish Government, as part of the strategy to reduce the environmental damage caused by commuting and traffic congestion.

It includes those who are self-employed, and some whose entire job is done from home. One of the growth areas has been among travel agents, replacing the cost of high street shops.

The key growth area to cut down on commuting is among office workers who have the flexibility of working at home or in an office.

However, a survey of British employers published in May found more than two-thirds of them never or only occasionally accept requests from employees to work from home, with the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development finding the bosses feared they would not have sufficient control over staff.

Yet only 8% of employers in the same survey found that home workers were less productive, and 30% thought they can be more productive.

Some home workers use the flexibility to avoid work. One in five men in another survey admitted they have taken a day off while saying they were working at home, but more extensive evidence shows home workers can be more productive than those in the office.

Best Companies, a human resources consultancy, found employees who work at home put in an average 45 hours per week, while those who go to the office every day do six hours less.

Among those who do between 10% and 60% of their work from home they found employees were more engaged with their work when they were given the flexibility to choose where to do it.

The benefits include a reduction in the time and cost of commuting. Those who make a success of home working are helped by fewer distractions from colleagues.

Managers also say the long-term impact of the social and employment shift is that they need less office space.

Telecom company BT has 20% of its staff working full-time from home, and claims to have saved £70m as a result.

According to Andy Willox, convener of the Federation of Small Businesses in Scotland, there is a need for government to take more account of this change in the workplace.

He said: "Because decision makers can't see home workers on the high street, the town centre or the industrial estate, they assume that they lack importance."

Self-discipline is the key to success
STEWART PATERSON

GEORGE and Barbara Brown run their leadership management consultancy business from their home in the south side of Glasgow.

The economic and time management benefits are the key reasons why the couple gave up their office four years ago and converted a room at their home into a workspace. Mr Brown delivers the training to clients while his wife does the research and quality control.

Mr Brown said: "I started out working from home nine years ago when we set up the business. We had an office for a few years but for the last four years we have been based at home.

"Economic reasons were behind the decision. The cost of rent, electricity, fuel for travel costs were all reflecting on the price I was charging to customers. Our clients are mainly local authorities so our customers were ultimately the ratepayers."

He added: "I am fairly disciplined. When I am at work I am working. You need to have the mentality of being at the office.

"I tell people if you are self-employed and work from home, you can work half days. You just have to decide if it is the first 12 hours or the last.

"There is no room for daytime television or anything else. Daytime TV doesn't exist as far as I am concerned.

"A lot of my work is outside normal office hours so I am easily contacted by clients and I don't have the hassle of getting to work and getting home again. I tend to just keep on working."

Mr Brown was not surprised at the rise in home working. He recommends it for other small businesses, especially when starting out to help with costs.