We caught up with David Staunton to find out how working from home affects his lifestyle.

What kind of work do you do from home?

Working for a capital equipment manufacturer. Mostly email and phone calls to the UK and overseas.

Do you always work at home or do you split your time between an external office or other meeting space?

Approximately one day per week in the office. Approximately 7 - 10 days per month travelling in Europe or the UK.

Is there any technology you find particularly useful when working from home? Eg. reliable phone, broadband, smartphone ...

Good mobile signal, landline and broadband, and a comfortable proper office chair.

How do you motivate yourself to work? Is it hard to avoid relaxing with family/housemates or getting distracted by household chores?

No distractions. Keeping a routine, getting up at same time every day as if going to the office, sticking to lunchtimes, breaktimes. Dressing appropriately (eg: shirt, trousers, shoes, not pyjamas and slippers !)

What have you found to be the disadvantages of working from home?

I miss the office banter, talking about new TV programmes and so on. I also miss Friday night drinks. A friend of mine is trying to organise a 'Freelance Friday' on the last weekend of every month, where us self-employed types can meet up just like our office-worker friends. I think that's a good idea.

What’s the best part of the day?

First thing in the morning when I realise I’m not scraping ice off my windscreen or sitting in a traffic jam to get to the office.

What’s the worst part of the day?

End of the working day, as it is too easy to carry on into evening time just to “finish off” things which haven’t been done. The evening can go if you are not careful.

What do you miss, if anything, about commuting to a separate workplace or office?

The informal, impromptu and unexpected encounters and informal conversations with colleagues. Some things aren’t important enough or urgent enough to merit a phone call or email, but an informal chat would often be handy.

Do you think working from home is becoming a more acceptable practice within the modern workplace?

Yes, lots of people do it as a matter of course nowadays.