Employers offer staff a country life: Susan Watts reports on a 'hi-tech' work-from-home movement helping women with families return to employment on their own terms

TELEWORKERS, who run their professional lives from remote offices, are more 'productive, reliable and loyal' than their commuting counterparts, Department of Employment research concluded this week.

Employers are clearly intrigued by the idea of shifting staff away from vast central offices with their associated costs. The researchers found about 1 in 20 employers already use remote workers, while almost 1 in 10 expect to do so.

The Royal Mail has just negotiated a deal with the Warwickshire Rural Enterprise Network Telecottage under which 10 administrative staff will work from a 'neighbourhood office' on its premises. The idea is that they limit commuting to and from the Royal Mail's London headquarters to a couple of days a week.

A telecottage bristles with computing and telecommunications equipment. It is designed to help small businesses and individuals in rural communities where facilities such as childcare are limited and traditional employment has declined. It also serves people who are opting to become freelance or self-employed to live and work in the countryside.

Recent research by BT suggested teleworking could save a company between pounds 6,000 and pounds 20,000 a year per head. Employees benefit from increased flexibility, and the telecottage is paid for the services it provides.

In the past couple of years, telecottages have sprung up in remote places including a converted Derbyshire farm and a former cobbler's shop in the Forest of Dean. It is estimated that in four to five years, about 10,000 people could be working this way from 250 telecottages.

There are more than 60 telecottages in the UK, providing access to computers, modems for sending documents electronically, fax machines, photocopiers and desktop publishing equipment. They also provide training and a social focus.

Teleworking in Britain; Res earch Strategy Branch, Room W441, Department of Employment, Moorfoot, Sheffield S1 4PQ; 0742-593932.