The number of people who work at home, either full or part time, is growing, and builders and remodelers are designing homes that accommodate additional telephones, faxes, personal computers and give the owners space to work.

According to a survey, 21.8 million nonagricultural workers 16 years of age or older worked at home, including 20 million who worker at home for their primary job. Of those, 1.9 million worked strictly at home, while the remainder performed only some work at home.

The 20 million home workers who did work for their primary job at home represented 17.1 percent of total civilian employment in 1992, compared to 15 percent in 1985. About 14.3 million were wage and salary workers and the balance were self employed. Only 1.9 million of salaried workers were paid by their employers for their work at home, while 12.2 million were taking home work from the office without being compensated.

Workers in traditional white-collar jobs were far more likely to work at home as part of their primary job compared to blue-collar workers. About half of the people doing job-related work at home were employed in the service industry in 1991.

The large number of managerial and corporate salaried workers doing company work at home suggests that having special work spaces in new homes or adding space to existing homes might become a requirement in upper-end units since the owners of those are more likely to work at home and to be able to afford having an office in their home.

According to surveys by National Association of Home Builders, design, space and layout were considered the second most important home feature for new home buyers. And other surveys indicate that 58 percent of remodelers are involved in adding rooms as one of their multi-trade jobs.

Idea homes such as the New American Home are showing separate work areas for parents and children. The 1995 New American Home features a small office near the kitchen that could be used for working at home or as a place dedicated to running the financial side of family life. The kids had a dedicated study space between their bedrooms, and the computers in both areas were linked by local area network to share software, printers, calendars and to use an in-home e-mail system.

If the trend continues, we will be seeing more and more homes with dedicated work space, whether it is to manage the household or to earn a living. And builders will be working with homeowners to provide the right space for the job.