The summer is over, the schools are back and you're stranded in rush-hour traffic as yet another bus sails by in the quality bus corridor. You can't face another winter of chaos on the roads but how do you avoid it?

Faced with the daunting task of getting to work each day, a growing number of people are simply not bothering to leave home in the morning.

Estimates suggest that some 18,000 Irish people, or 3.5 per cent of the workforce, are now engaged in some form of teleworking. This is defined as working at a distance from the traditional workplace using telecommunications, such as e-mail, telephone and fax, to maintain contact.

There are a number of different types of teleworkers. The term covers freelance self-employed people, known as telecontractors. Telecommuters are employed teleworkers who work from the home full-time or spend part of their time working from home and part working from the office.

Mobile workers such as sales and service staff and call-centre or back office staff who work in an office or telecottage but at a distance from the client are also considered teleworkers.

A recent survey for the Dublin Transportation Office (DTO) found that 22 per cent of employees think that they could do their jobs from home and 57 per cent of these would like to. But many people simply don't know how to go about organising themselves to do so.

According to teleworking consultant, Ms Imogen Bertin, most teleworking projects are employee driven although a growing number of companies are realising the benefits both to themselves and their staff of this working method and devising policies to cater for it.

Among the advantages for companies are increased productivity - estimates suggest that without the distractions common to most offices, workers manage to increase their productivity by between 10 and 40 per cent.

Reduced sick leave, lower staff turnover, improved motivation and cost savings in office overheads are among the other advantages that accrue to firms which allow teleworking.

From the employee's point of view, the benefits are obvious. In addition to not spending your life sitting in traffic, workers are able to strike a better balance between work and family life. The system also allows workers more flexibility in their approach to working hours so, if you are at your most creative first thing in the morning, you can start then.

So what jobs is teleworking best suited to, how do you go about it and what are the financial implications?

According to Telework Ireland, the professional association of teleworkers, a wide range of jobs from architecture to accountancy lend themselves to such a system of working. In terms of personality, experts say that teleworking is ideally suited to self-starters and those who are good organisers and time managers. "A person who is well-established in a company, who knows how things work and has a good relationship with managers is more likely to succeed at teleworking," says Ms Bertin.

Ideally, teleworkers should also have a room at home that they can dedicate to work and which allows them to close the door on the "office" when they finish. Those who don't have this to hand can find other ways around it but a cordoned-off area for work is a must, both for practical and psychological reasons.

"Setting up a typewriter in the corner of the kitchen is not really a suitable working environment," says Ms Paula Carey, research officer with the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU).

Equipment is important although it is likely to vary depending on the work being done. Among the items teleworkers are likely to need are a personal computer or laptop, software, a dedicated telephone line, a printer, answering machine, fax and a modem if it has not been installed as part of the computer package.

Who pays for the equipment is another important issue. ICTU, which participated in drawing up the code of practice on teleworking recently published by the National Advisory Council on Teleworking, believes employers should foot the costs for all equipment. In practice, this tends to be subject to negotiation.

"There is no strict way of doing it," says Ms Riona Caroll, development officer with Telework Ireland. "In some cases, companies provide all the equipment needed, in others the worker may already have the equipment."

But those intent on teleworking should make sure they iron out all arrangements before hand, she says.

For example, an employer may agree to install dedicated phone lines and pay for them or both parties may agree to the more cumbersome procedure of splitting the bill.

Aside from equipment, teleworkers need to consider a number of other issues such as health and safety requirements, insurance and the tax implications and other extra costs involved in working from home.

If you work for a company, it is that company's responsibility to ensure the standards of the home office meet those laid down by the Health and Safety Authority. These range from ensuring a suitable exit in the event of an emergency to meeting EU regulations on work stations.

Usually, firms will extend their insurance cover to the home office but the self-employed are responsible for ensuring compliance with health and safety standards and for their own insurance.

Many workers, saving on commuting costs, may choose to carry the extra costs involved in providing heat, light and electricity to work from home. In some cases, companies have installed a separate electricity meter for the office area while other employees negotiate for payment to cover such costs. However, workers who get an annual or monthly allowance to help with such bills could be faced with a benefit-in-kind tax bill.

Equally, to avoid benefit-in-kind taxes if the employer provides a computer, there may be restrictions on its use. Provided it is used for work purposes only, the employee is not liable for tax but if the kids are using it to play computer games, the tax man may see it differently.

In overall terms, how you are taxed depends on whether you are self-employed or an employee. In the case of the latter, you should not end up worse off than office-based employees because you choose to work from home, ICTU says. In the event that you opt to use the move to a home office to reduce working hours, you should be paid on a pro-rata basis.

Although it may take some organising, teleworking has many advantages. However, employees should also be aware of the hazards involved which include professional and social isolation.

But if you're fed up sitting in traffic and feel you can happily live without the daily drip-feed of gossip in the canteen, it may be time to consider setting up a home office.

Not only will you save yourself the daily trek to and from work but you will help protect the environment as well.

For further information on teleworking, con- tact Telework Ireland on 1800 421 426 or the telework enquiries helpline operated by the European Telework Development Initiative on 1800 225 070. Information is also available from IBEC's Employee Relations Information Unit on 01-660 1011.