Married people who work from home report feeling happier than they were before doing so, and the reason could be that it allows for a fairer distribution of chores, according to a scientist studying the impact of teleworking on wellbeing.

The future of work is here – and it’s defined by flexibility, autonomy and pressure, according to Prof. Seán Ó Riain from Maynooth University, Ireland, who has been studying how workplaces have changed since 1995. He says we need to rethink public services to help people balance work and family in this new era.

Robots are already changing the way we work - particularly in factories - but worries that they will steal our jobs are only part of the picture, as new technologies are also opening up workplace opportunities for workers and are likely to create new jobs in the future.

We need a new bill of rights to absorb the changes brought about by the gig economy, or using apps and websites to arrange casual jobs, which are now spreading to other areas of work, according to an international labour expert speaking at a conference on the future of work.

Policies to extend working life should not exclusively focus on older people as the decision on when to retire is influenced by the course of a person's career, according to researchers investigating the factors affecting how long people work.