A report prepared for the Kelly Services recruitment consultancy paints a picture of the future world of work.

The Tomorrow's Work document -- written by Institute of Directors Chief Economist Graeme Leach -- predicts that by 2020:

The nine to five rat race will be dead. Only 20 per cent of workers want to work those hours today and by 2020 many will be working a six-hour day allowing them to drop off and pick-up their kids from school or take advantage of the 24-hour society to work earlier or later in the day to fit round their lifestyle.

The office will be anywhere people can connect a computer and 10 per cent or more of FTSE 100 companies may not even have a physical headquarters.

A quarter of people will work from home all the time (up from two per cent today) and half of all employees will engage in homeworking in some form or other.

Twentyfive per cent of the workforce will be temporary workers on non-permanent contracts, up from six per cent today.

Outside work, a burgeoning domestic service industry and robotic machines will reduce household chores.

The leisure society will be more of a reality than ever before.

Kelly Services claims 44 per cent of North-westerners want the flexibility to select the hours they work between 7.30am and 9.30pm