Flexible working hours are encouraged by new legislation

As a report is published into the pros and cons of working from home, BBC News Online hears from three people about their experiences.

Pam Farmer, 48, a human resources manager from Surrey, is one of 6,500 British Telecom staff who work from home.

In 1996, I had two very small children and breast cancer, and was asked if I wanted to make the move.

I've since recovered from the cancer and carried on.

But I was atypical because I was so ill and didn't know what was round the corner.

I had an 18-month child and a four-year-old at the time and needed desperately to be near them.

Pam Farmer: "I have a very small office to myself"

But I also wanted to work too and this was a way of doing both.

One was at school and the other at a child minder, but I knew I didn't have to go far to reach them, so that relieved a lot of stress.

I had been travelling up to London, which could take up to two hours.

Home working gave me "down time" and conserved my energy.

It also allowed me to walk out in the garden when I needed to.

Recently, I've just come back from holiday and it's been wonderful to walk down the stairs (to work) in my night clothes or get up later and still be at my desk at 9am.

But if something is worrying me and it's in the middle of the night, I've known to be at my e-mail at 4.30am.

I'm very privileged and have a very small office to myself at home. You need a place to pack your stuff away or shut the door.

I would have found it impossible to look after children and work at the same time, so I had to maintain the child minder.

From the point of view of the organisation, at the start it was difficult to configure the responsibilities between those at home and those in the office.

Over time, that's changed because you all work remotely in some way and no-one is at the centre anymore.

Laurie Atkins: "We now spend less time working"

After more than five years working together from home, IT consultants Laurie and Jooli Atkins have switched to an office site to run their business, Matrix Forty Two Ltd, in Pocklington, East Yorkshire.

Jooli started the business originally in the 1990s and then I joined her five years ago. It definitely worked better when we were a smaller concern.

We started off in the smallest bedroom, then converted half the garage, then used the whole of the garage and turned the small room - which had gone back to a bedroom - into a cupboard area. We simply outgrew the space.

We did find working from home worked well, but we literally became victims of our own success.

When it came to employing more staff we made the decision to move out to rented office accommodation near our home.

Now we find we actually spend less time working. When we worked from home we regularly worked seven days a week on the business - now it's about five and a half.

And while Jooli had no problems in working from home, I found it difficult.

I used to be an engineer and I was used to working somewhere else, not home. It took over the house - every spare bit of room seemed to be taken over.

Since leaving home I have also found time to do some decorating I had put off.

Gill Price: Home working is "no soft option"

Gill Price, 45, from Wakefield, West Yorkshire, gave up work at Scottish Widows in Leeds 10 years ago, in order to start her own home working business, Evergreen Business Support.

I employ 13 people who give off-site support, such as secretarial services, to companies from their own homes. It's like a virtual typing pool.

When I began working from home, it was fantastic. There's a better work-life balance, much more flexibility, less stress, no travelling and no pressure from any office politics.

I've found home working a hugely positive experience.

I used to travel from Wakefield to Leeds and also travelled extensively throughout the country.

I find that I can fit in other commitments when it suits me.

I have two children, aged 12 and 14, and it allowed me to work in a way I could fit around them, which was great at the time.

Social drawbacks

But I don't think it suits everyone. I've recruited many home workers over the years and some people are not suited to it.

It may not be ideal for single people who really enjoy going into work because of the social interaction.

I have lots of inquiries from people who hear that I employ home workers and think the only requirement is having a home.

But I treat the application like I would in an office and I want to see the CV, see the person, have an interview and take their references.

That comes as a surprise because people see it as a soft option.