Teleworking Practices Research Articles

Telecommuting academics within an open distance education environment of South Africa: More content, productive, and healthy?

<p>Outside an academic setting, telecommuting has become fairly popular in recent years. However, research on telecommuting practices within a higher education environment is fairly sparse, especially within the higher distance education sphere. Drawing on existing literature on telecommuting and the outcome of a valuation study on the success of an experimental telecommuting programme at the largest distance education institution in South Africa, this article presents discerning findings on telecommuting practices. In fact, the research builds on evolutionary telecommuting assessment methods of the direct or indirect effect (work based) and affective impact (emotional) on multiple stakeholder groups. This holistic approach allowed for comparative analysis between telecommuting and nontelecommuting academics with regard to the impact of telecommuting practices. The research reveals high levels of support for telecommuting practices that are associated with high levels of work productivity and satisfaction, lower levels of emotional and physical fatigue, and reduced work stress, frustration, and overload. The study also reveals higher levels of student satisfaction with academic support from telecommuters than nontelecommuters. Overall, the critique presents insightful findings on telecommuting practices within an academic setting, which clearly signal a potential for a shift in the office culture of higher distance education institutions in the years to come. The study makes a significant contribution to a limited collection of empirical research on telecommuting practices within the higher distance education sector and guides institutions in refining and/or redefining future telecommuting strategies or programmes.</p>

The half-empty office: dilemmas in managing locational flexibility

Through a case study contrasting the impacts of formalised and informal teleworking practices on office-based workers, multidimensional dilemmas between flexibility, control and equity are uncovered. Formal schemes, although problematic and rare, possess some advantages in resolving the three dimensions. A model is proposed to test findings further.

Teleworking in South Africa: Employee benefits and challenges

Orientation: Virtual working arrangements present possible benefits to organisations and their employees. However, in South Africa, few organisations have implemented teleworking as a specific form of virtual work. The benefits and challenges to teleworkers are therefore largely unknown.Research purpose: The present study aimed to identify employee perceptions of personal benefits and challenges of teleworking.Motivation for the study: The study sought to contribute insights for South African business practice in this under-researched field.Research design, approach and method: This exploratory study collected primary data through the distribution of an electronic questionnaire to 94 employees at three South African organisations, with a 67% response rate. The survey included both closed and open-ended questions that were analysed using a combination of quantitative and qualitative techniques.Main findings: Most of the internationally identified benefits of teleworking were supported by participants, such as improved productivity, increased job satisfaction and organisational loyalty, decreased stress and improved work-life balance. Challenges identified included an increase in working hours and the lack of availability of training opportunities.Practical/managerial implications: The possible employee benefits and challenges of teleworking may assist organisations in devising teleworking practices and procedures that leverage benefits and address challenges inherent in this form of work practice.Contribution/value add: The study aims to supplement the dearth of knowledge about teleworking, specifically in the South African context, to assist organisations practically in their development of this form of virtual work arrangement for the benefit of organisations and their employees.

Teleworking practice in small and medium-sized firms: management style and worker autonomy

In an empirical study of teleworking practices in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in west London, organisational factors such as management attitudes, worker autonomy and employment flexibility were found to be more critical than technological provision in facilitating successful implementation. Consequently, we argue that telework in most SMEs appears as a marginal activity performed mainly by managers and specialist mobile workers.

Measurement of environmental impacts of telework adoption amidst change in complex organizations: AT&T survey methodology and results

Abstract Telecommuting practices and their environmental and organizational performance impacts have stimulated research across academic disciplines. Although telecommuting trends and impact projections are reported, few true longitudinal studies involving large organizations have been conducted. Published studies typically lack the research design elements to control a major confounding variable: rapid and widespread organizational change. Yet social science ‘Best Practices’ and market research industry quality control procedures exist that can help manage organizational change effects and other common sources of measurement error. In 1992, AT&T established a formal, corporate-wide telecommuting policy. A research and statistical modeling initiative was implemented to measure how flexible work arrangements reduce automotive emissions. Annual employee surveys were begun in 1994. As telecommuting benefits have been increasingly recognized within AT&T, the essential construct has been redefined as ‘telework.’ The survey's scope has expanded to address broader organization issues and provide guidance to multiple internal constituencies. This paper focuses upon the procedures used to reliably measure the adoption of telework practices and model their environmental impact, and contrasts those procedures with other, less reliable methodologies.

Telework: from distance working to new forms of flexible work organisation

The purpose of this paper is to analyse some recent developments in tele working, considered as flexible work forms linked to the widespread use of information and communication technology (ICT). First of all we draw an overview of emerging and declining forms of telework, referring to recent results of an international survey carried out for the European Commission. This overview highlights that the various teleworking practices can no longer be analysed from the single point of view of ‘working at a distance'. The second section analyses them in a more general framework: the expansion of flexible work organisation and ‘atypical’ work forms, which characterise employment in the information society. These aspects will be commented on in the light of some results of a European socio-economic research project (FLEXCOT), allowing us to pinpoint the role of ICT in these trends. In conclusion, the paper addresses some challenges for industrial relations and collective bargaining.

Telecommuting in Southern California in 1995

Research on the telecommuting practices of employers and commuters in Southern California was conducted to better understand how individuals and organizations make decisions about telecommuting practices and policies and the characteristics of workers who telecommute and those who do not. Findings were used to guide marketing activities aimed at promoting telecommuting to employers in Southern California. Responses from the survey of 350 employers and 700 commuters revealed that telecommuting is found at 15 percent of firms with 20 or more employees and that employers allow telecommuting to help employees balance the demands of work and home while increasing productivity. Stimulating greater use of telecommuting requires an awareness of the impediments perceived by individuals and, more important, by organizations that manage how work gets done. For example, concerns for the fit of telecommuting with jobs poses the largest obstacle for greater use of telecommuting, although survey responses indicate that the jobs held by telecommuters are much different than those of employees working in the office. Employers also consider the need to provide equipment to telecommuters as an impediment to having employees work from home although many telecommuters are not provided with equipment by their employers. Research findings provided valuable data to identify employers with potential for telecommuting and focus precious resources and guide the development of materials, training programs, presentations, and sales tools.