Work from home This is both common practice in smaller publishing houses as well as financially more practical - in this way, costs of business premises that could otherwise lead to financial ruin are saved. This also means that our associates are spared unnecessary travel to work and it helps to reduce traffic and environmental pollution as well. Working from home is particularly advantageous for the disabled as well as mothers and fathers and is quite often their only opportunity for professional development. The disabled are spared the sometimes unbearable journeys to work and parents can be gainfully employed for some hours a day while at the same time being able to take care of their children. Working from home also dispenses with the need to move to another town because of your job and offers great opportunities for working virtually anywhere in your own country or abroad - without having to leave your familiar social environment. For many self-employed people working from home on-line has long been common practice. There are many reasons for promoting working from home. In Switzerland, there is even a "Regulation for the Promotion of Teleworking". Working from home is a widespread practice in countries such as Great Britain, Norway, Sweden and the USA, unlike in Germany, where it has yet to evolve. According to Die Zeit 33/98, already in 1994, 15% of the self-employed in Great Britain were working from home as opposed to only 2.4% in Germany at the time. In the year 2000, however, according to the Institut der Deutschen Wirtschaft [IW] (Institute of the German Economy) in Cologne, this number increased to approx. 6% of all employed. Working from home is gaining in significance every day.