PRODUCTIVITY: improved productivity and lower absenteeism. A much talked-about study of participants in the "Smart Valley" teleworking project in California found productivity had risen - by 20 per cent according to the teleworkers, and by 12 per cent according to their managers.

FLEXIBILITY: more flexible working arrangements for employees.

EQUALITY: The World Wide Web also has an equalising effect, giving the same "Web presence" to a small individual retailer as a national chain. Irish retailers and service organisations which already have a Web presence can now be counted in their hundreds

ENVIRONMENTAL: On the surface, telecommuting also seems like an urban planner's dream, with enormous economic, social and environmental benefits such as:

(1) the elimination of up to two trips per day per worker;

(2) reduced rush-hour traffic, as there would be fewer commuters on public transport or - more importantly - in private cars, entering and leaving urban centres at much the same time each day;

(3) less demand or need for parking spaces, which could be freed up for alternative uses;

(4) fewer car crashes (with their attendant social and economic costs);

(5) decreased air pollution and damage to building facades.

A recent study in the US by Arthur D. Little Associates calculated that if 10 to 20 per cent of traditional commuters switched to telecommuting, annual savings would total $23 billion. These savings would be realised by:

(a) eliminating 1.8 million tons of regulated pollutants;

(b) saving 3.5 billion gallons of petrol;

(c) freeing up of 3.1 billion hours of personal time from reduced congestion and automobile trips; and

(d) reducing maintenance costs for existing transportation infrastructure by $500 million.

By encouraging telecommuting, local authorities can reduce peak-period congestion on feeder routes into our major cities, but it could be counterproductive for one department to encourage telecommuting while another pushes for additional motorway lanes.

Bigger, faster roads and free workplace parking encourage people to remain in their cars, but another problem is of latent demand; people who previously avoided using cars because of traffic congestion might start driving more because telecommuting has eased the traffic problem. This would tend to offset the reductions in fuel use and emissions.

Andrew McLaren of TCD argues that many of the benefits of telecommuting could quickly become gobbled up again by the system. In many cities, "all that happens is that enhanced accessibility means more private cars, more commuting, and more traffic jams."

For telecommuters working at home, the costs of equipping and operating a home office, if not borne by their employer, might also offset some of the savings gained by driving less.