In addition, teleworking can greatly improve the quality of life of individual teleworkers. It can reduce commuting time to and from work, give workers more control over working hours and achieve a better balance between their role as earners and their other roles as members of society outside work. In addition, teleworking can help marginalised groups, such as people with disabilities and carers, find employment. Employment opportunities Using teleworking as a working method, new employment opportunities can be created. Regional development Teleworkers can live in the location of their choice and have greater choice over when and where to work.
Teleworking can therefore support employment creation in rural and disadvantaged areas.
A better future for many of the less-developed parts of the country can then emerge. The pattern of the past can be reversed, 'bringing work to the people', rather than 'bringing people to the work'. Despite the evidence that teleworking improves the working and living environment for both employees and employers, Ireland does not yet have a culture of telework-centred organisations. Most people, working or unemployed, are unaware of the real implications and benefits of teleworking. Organisations are unaware of the benefits of teleworking, of ways to initiate teleworking, long-term implications and the adaptations that need to be made to successfully implement this new method of working.