When John Heywood travels to China this summer, he’ll be there not only to teach, but also to study a new aspect of the country’s economy: the advent of worker rights.

Without that five minutes chat by the watercooler, the open-ended lunch break, or a boss's beckoning door, homeworkers can often feel isolated from colleagues and the opportunities for informal networking and mentoring that are wrought by the almost mythical 9-to-5. Without the ties that bind, those working from home offices can be overlooked for perks and promotions. So, what's a busy homebody to do? Get connected, that's what!

Job satisfaction amongst teachers has increased dramatically since 1999, with the profession rising from 54th to 11th in a league table of job satisfaction published this week.