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Let me give you an example from my own situation. I live in Gävle, where I am sitting now as I present this speech. Gävle is a town located some 200 kilometres from Stockholm and the Government buildings.

I am the mother of two small children. Like all parents with small children, I have to work hard to combine day-to-day routines with all my responsibilities at work.

For me, one solution is to work from home sometimes. In this way I am able to avoid extra hours spent in commuting.

I can also take part in more meetings and conferences. Like this one today.

Several ministers in the Cabinet work in the same way. This is an important signal to others. The Governments and public authorities are setting a good example by testing new working methods.

Telework offers employees opportunities to achieve better quality of life. Telework gives me personally greater flexibility. Telework can also give others a better chance to work closer to home.

Telework is not a goal in itself. But when it works, it is about both freedom of choice and prosperity. Teleworking is an opportunity for individuals to increase their influence on daily work, and for employers to improve their performance.

 Therefore, a favourable climate for teleworkers will be an important component in the European labour market of the future. But today there are practical problems and unclear rules. These make it difficult to modernise working life.

But, why are people not teleworking as much as we believe they want to? What is stopping them? Where are the obstacles?

We know that current legislation is not adapted to telework. Our legislation is still based on the concept of an employee located at a traditional work-site and monitored by the management. Our legislation has not been adapted to the rapid development of information technology.

We know that there is still wide-spread mistrust of telework. We need more knowledge about people's attitudes to telework.

As I think telework has basically many advantages, we must look into what changes are needed to help and encourage more people to choose telework. And the key word here is "choose". Telework must be seen as an opportunity. It is one of several ways to work.

During the nineties, Swedish companies have been successful in changing their work organisations. In many companies there is a more open attitude towards new working methods. The Swedish labour market is very flexible in its implementation of new technology. This will give Sweden an advantage if we try to increase telework.

According to a study from the European Commission, Sweden is a leading nation in Europe when it comes to telework in the work-force. Closely followed by Finland. Maybe it is because of the large distances in our countries. Used properly, technology bridges gaps between people. This is especially important in a country with Sweden’s geography.

 I see many potential advantages in telework I would like to indicate some of them.

In the long run telework can create the foundation for a more ecologically sustainable environment. It is possible that the number of short, work-related journeys will decrease. Telework could probably cut down rush-hour traffic in big cities.

Ulrica Messing, Swedish Minister for Equality Affairs

And if more people telework, the need for long journeys to and from work will drop too. Telework is based on the development of information technology. I am sure that more telework will move developments still further.

If people demand more workstations at home, more tele-centres, this might also create more jobs. Telework can be good for the economy. Teleworking companies that I have visited, say that there are profits to be made. For example, lower costs for renting office space, greater flexibility and more contented staff. If this is true for all companies, telework could lead to both lower environmental costs and higher productivity in the economy.

I am convinced that telework can give more personal freedom if it is used in the right way. There are lots of advantages – fewer journeys, less time wasted, less stress and more flexible working hours. It is easier to combine work with home and family.

But it is important not to forget the possible disadvantages and dangers of telework. Teleworkers who work too much at home often say that there are disadvantages. They are nervous about how well they perform. It is hard on the family. And they do not get enough contact with their colleagues. But, we also need to know more about how telework affects equality between women and men. Does it lead to a more equal distribution of unpaid domestic work? Does it affect attitudes to careers? Does it give men and women the same opportunities?

I have, for instance, seen studies showing that while women use computers as often as men at home, employers are more willing to pay for computers used by men.

Development must not mean that equality moves backwards. And we must make sure that telework does not lead to isolation and longer working hours.

The laws and agreements that apply today do not protect teleworking employees properly. Many teleworkers are teleworking on an informal basis without proper contracts. Therefore, many parties on the labour market are demanding more modern rules.

We have to give companies, authorities and ordinary people more information about what telework has to offer. But we also have to tell them about the difficulties they may encounter.

We need to show more good examples. And we have to learn from the bad ones.

We must help each other to change attitudes. Colleagues and managers must accept that people leave their normal place of work.

The Swedish Government is taking this matter very seriously. I have  appointed a committee to look into how we might make it easier for people to telework in Sweden. The committee is to present its proposals next week. I don’t know what they will propose, so I can't promise that there will be any amendments to the legislation. But I can say one thing. It is not a good thing if teleworkers are discriminated with regard to job-security and career opportunities. And I am hoping that the committee will present some progressive proposals.

In conclusion. Teleworking can benefit individuals, companies, authorities and regions. For this reason, I hope that we can speed up the favourable telework trend. As a politician, I promise to do what I can. But I also believe that conferences such as this one are valuable. They inspire people who want to try. They disseminate ideas, visions and good examples. But we must remember that the less successful examples offer valuable lessons too.