The Influence of Gender and Occupation on Individual Perceptions of Telecommuting

Abstract

Accurate forecasts of the adoption and impacts of telecommuting depend on an understanding of what motivates individuals to adopt telecommuting, since those motivations will offer insight into who is likely to telecommute under what circumstances. Motivations for telecommuting are likely to differ by various segments of society. In this study, the authors analyze gender and occupation differences in the perceptions of telecommuting for 583 employees of the City of San Diego. Numerous differences are identified. Most broadly, women on average rated the advantages of telecommuting more highly than men-both overall and within each occupation group. Women were more likely than men to cite family, personal benefits, and stress reduction as advantages of telecommuting, and more likely to see the lack of visibility to management as a disadvantage. Clerical workers were more likely than managers or professionals to see the family, personal, and office stress-reduction benefits of telecommuting as important, whereas managers and professionals were more likely to cite getting more work done as the most important advantage of telecommuting. Reduced social interaction appeared to be of about equal concern to both clerical and professional/technical workers, and reduced professional interaction was of greatest concern to managers and professionals. Professionals were more likely than the other two job types to see the lack of visibility to management and the need for discipline as disadvantages.