Officials have a duty to better understand the contribution home-based freelance workers make to the economy, it's claimed.

Homeworkers should ensure they network regularly and "get out and about" to avoid becoming isolated. That's the top tip from one home-based worker in Bradford, named as a homeworking hotspot in a BT-sponsored report last week.

As a greater number of workers enjoy the freedom of being able to work from home, thanks to enhancements in technology and communication, home-based businesses in Wales have also been increasing their profits.

As National Commute Smart Week (8th-14th November) comes to an end, research has re-emphasised the benefits – for employers and employees alike – of homeworking and similar "smart" working practices.

Research commissioned to coincide with Remote Office Day this week (10th November) shows that recession-hit small firms have reservations about the productivity of employees who work from home.

Cost savings and an improved work/life balance for employees are the aims behind one local authority's plans to introduce homeworking, it has emerged.

Introducing flexible working practices or offering employees the opportunity to work from home could go some way towards reducing the billion-pound cost of productivity lost to stress, depression and other mental health problems every year.

A new homeworking project in Scotland aims to create jobs and reduce reliance on limited public transport in the rural seaboard communities of Easter Ross.