Article

The Organizational Context of Teleworking Implementation

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Abstract

The large-scale implementation of teleworking has not yet occurred in the industrialized world. This fact is in contrast to earlier predictions that viewed teleworking as the main organizational form of the electronic age that would largely eliminate work-related commuting. The slow adoption of the teleworking practice calls for a careful analysis of all elements that may influence the implementation of teleworking. The present article reports the empirical findings of a survey conducted among firms in Brussels, the Belgian and EU capital. The article's main objective is to identify the drivers and constraints relevant to the implementation of teleworking in the Brussels business environment. Furthermore, some insights are provided into the perceived social and economic advantages and disadvantages of teleworking implementation. Finally, the potential effectiveness of various policy tools to promote teleworking is assessed.

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... By working outside the office, FWA can have the disadvantage of making employees less visible and making them feel isolated (Galanti et al., 2021;Maruyama & Tietze, 2012;Tietze, 2002). Often, flexibility makes communication and interaction between workers more difficult (Illegems et al., 2001;Maruyama & Tietze, 2012) as they did not meet at the premises of the company due to the pandemic. In addition, family, work and role conflicts can increase (Allen et al., 2015;Kingma, 2016;Kossek & Michel, 2017;Maruyama & Tietze, 2012). ...
... In this context, prior research did not only highlight positive, but also many negative effects. Many employees who work flexibly (in terms of place and time) often feel isolated and excluded (Allen et al., 2015) and become distant from the company (Cooper & Kurland, 2002) If employees work outside the company's premises, they lack identification with the values of the organization (Illegems et al., 2001;Weideman & Hofmeyr, 2021). As a result, emotional attachment decreases (Meyer & Allen, 1991). ...
... Since employees often worked completely remotely, they did not build a close relationship with the company and did not get to know the values and corporate culture. This reduces AC (Illegems et al., 2001;Weideman & Hofmeyr, 2021). In summary, our results show that apparently in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, a high proportion of FWA tended to result in negative commitment. ...
Article
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Due to technological progress and the COVID-19 pandemic, flexible work arrangements (FWA) have spread enormously. Thus, many companies offer different forms of flexible work now. The aim of the study is to analyze the consequences for employees' affective commitment brought on by FWA. In order to effectively establish FWA, support is needed from the manager. Transformational leadership can be seen as a supportive and facilitating leadership style in this context. In addition, FWA change the way people work together, especially in terms of informal communication. Therefore, informal communication and transformational leadership were analyzed as possible mediators or moderators. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was used on a sample of 224 German employees. The study results indicated that FWA are statistically significantly negatively associated with affective commitment. The role of informal communication as a mediator as well as the role of transformational leadership as a moderator were not confirmed. This study examined the impact of FWA on affective commitment during the COVID-19 pandemic, as existing research findings had been inconsistent regarding the direction of that relationship to date. Moreover, this is the first study examining the effects of informal communication and transformational leadership in this research stream.
... In recent years, the development of workplace flexibility has gained momentum. Working flexibly is not only advantageous for employees, but also for organizations as it helps companies to recruit and retain the best candidates in the war for talents (Beham et al., 2015;Iscan and Naktiyok, 2005;Illegems and Verbeke, 2004;Illegems et al., 2001;Kossek et al., 2006). Besides already researched and discussed advantages of flexible workplaces, there is still a lack of understanding regarding the disadvantages of flexible workplaces and their effects on employee performance or motivation as well as organizational performance . ...
... Baruch (2000) discusses the aspects of stress and unhealthy employees, supported by Mann et al. (2000), by highlighting that working hours are increasing and that employees are working although they are sick. In addition, face-to-face contact and teamwork is reduced which limits the team spirit (Illegems et al., 2001). So, the issue of being productive is often in the focus (e.g. ...
... The majority of the disadvantages of flexible workplaces mentioned here have to do with a lack of social interaction. Isolation of employees was mentioned 11 times in the systematic literature review (Baruch, 2000;Collins, 2005;Harris, 2003;Illegems and Verbeke, 2004;Lal and Dwivedi, 2009;Mann et al., 2000;Maruyama and Tietze, 2012;Teo et al., 1998;Tietze, 2002), less face-to-face contact with colleagues and supervisors was discussed five times (Coenen and Harris, 2003;Illegems and Verbeke, 2004;Illegems et al., 2001;Watad and Will, 2003), fewer involvement in teamwork was discussed once (Illegems et al., 2001), less informal training was mentioned twice and worse employee visibility was mentioned three times Maruyama and Tietze, 2012;Taskin and Edwards, 2007). McClelland's (1987) need theory captures three major needs existing in people, namely achievement, affiliation and power. ...
Article
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The demand for more flexible workplaces is on the increase for employees and employers. The aim of this paper is, firstly, to identify and alleviate downsides of alternative workplaces in relation to the performance and motivation of employees that work outside the company's facilities in order to provide a deeper understanding of its consequences, and secondly, to develop a new conceptual framework focusing on workplace flexibility practices in SMEs. A systematic literature review was conducted, 50 relevant articles were identified and analyzed, offering a new conceptual framework which enables researchers and practitioners to combine several occupational, private, social and financial downsides in order to measure to what extent these aspects influence SME performance. Moreover, a research agenda was set up for further examination. Prior to this, no systematic literature review with this focus was conducted and no all-encompassing conceptual framework for SMEs (including all downsides) was identified, underlining the originality and value of this research. JEL Codes: J10, J61, M12, M50, M54.
... Sua atuação envolve elementos críticos no desenvolvimento do teletrabalho: definição de atividades possíveis de se trabalhar à distância; seleção e planejamento das tarefas; controle e acompanhamento de prazos, responsabilidades e qualidade do trabalho (Mross, 2016), tudo isso, de forma remota (Freitas, 2008). Uma supervisão direta não é um mecanismo adequado para supervisionarem teletrabalhadores, sendo a utilização de modos orientados para a saída mais pertinentes (Illegems;Verbeke;S'Jegers, 2001). Essa prática tem propiciado o desenvolvimento de outras formas de controle, como: monitoramento eletrônico; controle por resultados; tarefas pré-estabelecidas e criação dependente de trabalho de equipe (Rosenfield;De Alves, 2011). ...
... Sua atuação envolve elementos críticos no desenvolvimento do teletrabalho: definição de atividades possíveis de se trabalhar à distância; seleção e planejamento das tarefas; controle e acompanhamento de prazos, responsabilidades e qualidade do trabalho (Mross, 2016), tudo isso, de forma remota (Freitas, 2008). Uma supervisão direta não é um mecanismo adequado para supervisionarem teletrabalhadores, sendo a utilização de modos orientados para a saída mais pertinentes (Illegems;Verbeke;S'Jegers, 2001). Essa prática tem propiciado o desenvolvimento de outras formas de controle, como: monitoramento eletrônico; controle por resultados; tarefas pré-estabelecidas e criação dependente de trabalho de equipe (Rosenfield;De Alves, 2011). ...
... Sua atuação envolve elementos críticos no desenvolvimento do teletrabalho: definição de atividades possíveis de se trabalhar à distância; seleção e planejamento das tarefas; controle e acompanhamento de prazos, responsabilidades e qualidade do trabalho (Mross, 2016), tudo isso, de forma remota (Freitas, 2008). Uma supervisão direta não é um mecanismo adequado para supervisionarem teletrabalhadores, sendo a utilização de modos orientados para a saída mais pertinentes (Illegems;Verbeke;S'Jegers, 2001). Essa prática tem propiciado o desenvolvimento de outras formas de controle, como: monitoramento eletrônico; controle por resultados; tarefas pré-estabelecidas e criação dependente de trabalho de equipe (Rosenfield;De Alves, 2011). ...
... In the late 1970s and the 1980s, home office was perceived as the work arrangement of the future [17]. As underlined by [18], it becomes increasingly feasible thanks to advances in Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). ...
... For employers, the practice helps productivity, profitability and flexibility [14,[19][20][21]. It is also associated with a decrease of employees' absenteeism and turnover [17,22]. Some authors highlight the improvement in remote collaborations [23]. ...
... Some authors show greater commitment, work effort and performance associated with the practice [29,30] when some others highlight the lack of contact and reduced collaboration opportunities, social problems and isolation [12,20,31,32]. Another disadvantage is lower salary growth and professional advancement of teleworkers [17,33,34]. ...
Article
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In these times of successive lockdown periods due to the health crisis induced by COVID-19, this paper investigates how the usages of collaborative and communication digital tools (groupware, workflow, instant messaging and web conference) are related to the evolution of teleworkers’ subjective well-being (job satisfaction, job stress) and job productivity comparing during and before the first lockdown in spring 2020. Using a sample of 438 employees working for firms located in Luxembourg, this analysis enables, first, to highlight different profiles of teleworkers regarding the evolution of usages of these tools during the lockdown compared to before and the frequency of use during. Second, the analysis highlights that these profiles are linked to the evolution of job satisfaction, job stress and job productivity. Our main results show that (1) the profile that generates an increase in job productivity is the one with a combined mastered daily or weekly use of all of the four studied digital tools but at the expense of job satisfaction. On the contrary, (2) the use of the four digital tools both before and during the lockdown, associated with an increase in the frequency of use, appears to generate too much information flow to deal with and teleworkers may suffer from information overload that increases their stress and reduces their job satisfaction and job productivity. (3) The habit of using the four tools on a daily basis before the lockdown appears to protect teleworkers from most of the adverse effects, except for an increase in their job stress. Our results have theoretical and managerial implications for the future of the digitally transformed home office.
... In this situation, workplace flexibility during the COVID-19 enabled workers to easily deal with their family situation or emergency and consequently influenced satisfaction and work-life balance during the pandemic. It was previously explained that the flexibility of time to work positively influences work-life balance by allowing employees to cope with their family needs and other work smoothly (Illegems et al., 2001). Furthermore, having the autonomy to choose when to work allows individuals to work when they are most productive, ultimately increasing productivity (Illegems et al., 2001;Lim and Teo, 2000). ...
... It was previously explained that the flexibility of time to work positively influences work-life balance by allowing employees to cope with their family needs and other work smoothly (Illegems et al., 2001). Furthermore, having the autonomy to choose when to work allows individuals to work when they are most productive, ultimately increasing productivity (Illegems et al., 2001;Lim and Teo, 2000). ...
... Corporate offices were significantly preferred for formal meetings, work meetings with several colleagues, socializing, getting trained and training others. These results align with concerns discussed in previous studies; professional and social isolation was a critical concern when implementing teleworking because of reduced interactions between coworkers (Baker et al., 2007;Illegems et al., 2001). Waizenegger et al. (2020) found, in interviews with knowledge workers, that virtual communication channels sometimes hindered quick and instant communication among workers and made knowledge sharing difficult. ...
Article
Purpose This study aims to understand how knowledge workers working from home during COVID-19 changed their views on physical work environments and working-from-home practices. Design/methodology/approach This study conducted a survey targeting workers in the USA recruited via Amazon Mechanical Turk. A total of 1,651 responses were collected and 648 responses were used for the analysis. Findings The perceived work-life balance improved during the pandemic compared to before, while the balance of physical boundaries between the workplace and home decreased. Workplace flexibility, environmental conditions of home offices and organizational supports are positively associated with productivity, satisfaction with working from home and work-life balance during the pandemic. Research limitations/implications While the strict traditional view of “showing” up in the office from Monday through Friday is likely on the decline, the hybrid workplace with flexibility can be introduced as some activities are not significantly affected by the work location, either at home-based or corporate offices. The results of this study also highlight the importance of organizations to support productivity and satisfaction in the corporate office as well as home. With the industry collaboration, future research of relatively large sample sizes and study sites, investigating workers’ needs and adapted patterns of use in home-based and corporate offices, will help corporate real estate managers make decisions and provide some level of standardization of spatial efficiency and configurations of corporate offices as well as essential supports for home offices. Originality/value The pandemic-enforced working-from-home practices awaken the interdependence between corporate and home environments, how works are done and consequently, the role of the physical workplace. This study built a more in-depth understanding of how workers who were able to continue working from home during COVID-19 changed or not changed their views on physical work environments and working-from-home practices.
... During the 1970s and 1980s, telework was perceived as the work arrangement of the future (Illegems et al., 2001;Iscan and Naktiyok, 2005). However, despite optimistic predictions, the diffusion of telework, mostly as an occasional work pattern, had proven slow until 2019, when the Covid-19 outbreak took place (European Commission, 2020;Illegems et al., 2001;Iscan and Naktiyok, 2005). ...
... During the 1970s and 1980s, telework was perceived as the work arrangement of the future (Illegems et al., 2001;Iscan and Naktiyok, 2005). However, despite optimistic predictions, the diffusion of telework, mostly as an occasional work pattern, had proven slow until 2019, when the Covid-19 outbreak took place (European Commission, 2020;Illegems et al., 2001;Iscan and Naktiyok, 2005). ...
... The lack of interaction is considered a significant disadvantage of telework mostly by student job-seekers but also by nonstudent job seekers. Illegems et al. (2001) Quantitative research Survey-based ...
Article
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Given the work and life conditions imposed by the ‘new normal’ Covid-19 era, a massive shift towards telework is expected and will likely continue long after the pandemic. Despite the resurgent interest in telework as an important aspect of ensuring business continuity, the literature base remains fragmented and variable. This study presents a taxonomical classification of literature on teleworking along with a comprehensive bibliography and future research agenda. To this aim, a systematic literature review methodology was adopted drawing on an evidence base of 40 articles published in high-ranking journals during the years 2000–2020. Findings capture key developments and synthesize existing areas of research focus. Important insights and gaps in the existing research are also pinpointed. The study may stimulate future research, represent a reference point for scholars interested in telework and at the same time provide an added advantage to managers for understanding crucial dimensions thereof.
... We will now delve into the six critical resources and demands: a) Structural support encompasses the technological frameworks and organizational policies enabling remote work (Buonomo et al., 2023;Gerich, 2023). It includes not only the technological infrastructure (such as the required software and hardware tools or reliable and seamless internet access) but also policies and practices promoted by the organization that support telework, such as flexible working hours, training for telework, virtual team communication, access to data and systems remotely (Illegems et al., 2001;Kohont and Ignjatović, 2022). Also, it encompasses the endorsement of networks inside the company to connect teleworkers (Bentley et al., 2016), such as virtual communities that may help to exchange knowledge between the distributed members (González-Anta et al., 2021). ...
... This support is crucial as it directly impacts the teleworkers' ability to perform tasks efficiently, balance work and personal life, and maintain wellbeing and job satisfaction (Kohont and Ignjatović, 2022;Buonomo et al., 2023). Research has found that structural support is a significant resource for teleworkers according to the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model (Illegems et al., 2001). By providing teleworkers with the necessary tools, supervisory support, and flexibility, organizations can help reduce the risks and consequences (e.g., stress and isolation) often associated with remote work (Chambel et al., 2022;Kohont and Ignjatović, 2022). ...
Article
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Introduction: Digitalization and the pandemic have transformed work, increasing flexibility, and remote arrangements. A critical factor in these transformations' success is supervisors' competencies. Consequently, new tools for assessing supervisory performance are required, particularly considering subordinates' evaluations. This study investigates the role of three telework resources (structural support, telework readiness, and monitorization) and three demands (workload, isolation, and information overload) in predicting employees' evaluation of supervisors, with satisfaction with telework as a moderator. Methods: A survey among 322 Spanish teleworkers was conducted in July 2023. Specific scales for measuring Telework Supervisory Performance, as well as Telework Resources and Demands, were developed. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), correlations, and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) were conducted. Results: Organizational structural support positively correlates with subordinates' evaluation of their supervisor, while monitorization shows a negative relationship. Telework demands studied demonstrated no significant relationship with the outcome. Interaction effects between resources and satisfaction with telework increased the relationship with supervisor evaluations. Discussion: This research shows that organizational support significantly enhances supervisor evaluations in remote work settings, particularly among satisfied teleworkers. The findings also reveal that high monitoring levels can negatively impact supervisor assessments. Conversely, job demands were not significantly linked to supervisor evaluations. Implications for workers and organizations are discussed.
... Those positive consequences and the energy crisis in the 1970s led to the prediction of its generalized spread in developed countries (Bailey and Kurland 2002). However, it did not happen in many countries either at the beginning of the 21st century (Illegems et al. 2001;Baruch 2001) or at the beginning of March 2020 (Fana et al. 2020). Until Spring 2020, the development of WFH across territories was not uniform, due to factors such as labour cultures and regulations or the development of ICT infrastructures (Gschwind and Vargas 2019). ...
... Developing a job at home is better adapted for clerical jobs and for those who are more intellectual and skilled (Park and Cho 2022). This explains why higher acceptance degrees usually come from persons with greater academic levels, who tend to develop qualified tasks (Illegems et al. 2001;Nguyen 2021). Sutarto et al. (2021) report that having a high educational level inhibits stress by WFH. ...
Article
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This paper tests the explanatory capability of the individual, organizational, environmental and job factors regarding Spanish workers' perception of isolation and stress owing to working from home (WFH). We used a survey of the Spanish agency Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas on the Spanish population's perceptions of several aspects of information technologies that was carried out in March 2021. Information overload, work overload and isolation are perceived to be the principal factors involved in WFH. Because WFH could be inhibit professional development, drawbacks in the infrastructure include overload and impediments to career development as the most relevant variables to explain the perception of isolation. Age and balance between family and work also have explanatory power, but less so for isolation and stress. While people with intermediate ages are less sensitive to isolation and stress, having a correct balance between work and personal life is a protective factor against these effects. From the results in this paper, we outline several questions that must be addressed by labour authorities via legal regulations and by firms and workers to adapt organizational and working culture to ensure the efficient implementation of WFH settings compatible with employees' well-being.
... Teknolojide meydana gelen bu gelişmeler toplumsal bir dönüşümün önünü de açmış ve kişilerin teknolojik imkanları kullanarak lokasyon bağımsız olarak bilgisayar üzerinden bir merkeziyet olmadan uzaktan çalışabilmelerin de önü açılmıştır. 1990'lı yılların başında geleceğin yeni trendleri arasında sıkça adından söz ettiren uzaktan çalışma modeli yıllar geçmesine karşın beklenilen atılımı yapamamış ve şirketler tarafından benimsenmemiştir (Illegems, Verbeke, & S'Jegers, 2001). 2020 yılının Ocak ayına gelindiğinde ise Dünya Sağlık Örgütü tarafından küresel bir salgın olarak adlandırılan Covid19 pandemisiyle kişilerin birbirlerine virüs yayımını engellemek ve iş sürekliliğini sağlamak adına bir çok şirket uzaktan çalışma sürecine giriş yapmıştır (Öge & Çetin, 2020). ...
... Lokasyon bağımsız çalışmanın getirdiği mobilite ve hızlı adaptasyon aynı zamanda işletmeler için sorunlara hızlı ve zaman gözetmeksizin müdahale edebilme fırsatını da ortaya çıkarmıştır. 1990'lı yılların başında geleceğin yeni trendleri arasında sıkça adından söz ettiren uzaktan çalışma modeli yıllar geçmesine karşın beklenilen atılımı yapamamış ve şirketler tarafından benimsenmemiştir (Illegems, Verbeke, & S'Jegers, 2001). Çalışanlar açısından; verimlilik ve iş tatmininde yaşanan artış, şirkete ulaşım sürecinde yaşanan zaman kaybının ortadan kalkması, aileye daha fazla zaman ayırabilme, nispeten küçük şehirlerde yüksek maliyetlerle karşılaşmadan yaşamak gibi avantajları yanında, sosyalleşme eksikliği, şirket bağlılıklarında ve kültürünü anlamakta yaşanan zorluklar, bilgi güvenliği sorunları, iş -özel hayat dengesinin bozulması, donanım yatırımları ve ekip/takım olamama gibi zorluklar da bu çalışma modelinin dezavantajları arasında sayılabilir (Akça & Küçükoğlu, 2020). ...
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Endüstri 4.0, sayısız yeniliğin önünü açarken şirketler hem gelişen teknolojik ihtiyaçlara uyum sağlamak hem de yeni nesil çalışanlara daha tercih edilebilen bir çalışma ortamı sunabilmek amacıyla uzun zamandır çalışmalar yürütmektedirler. Uzaktan çalışma sistemi birçok şirketin denemiş olduğu ve iş sürekliliği planlarında yer alan bir senaryo iken tüm dünyayı etkisi altına alan Covid19 pandemisi bu çalışma sistemini neredeyse tüm şirketlerin karşı karşıya kaldığı bir zorunluluk haline getirmiştir. Uzaktan çalışma sistemi sunduğu avantajların yanısıra kişilerin şirket merkezinden ve sosyallikten uzak çalışıyor olması nedeniyle kendilerini takım olarak hissedebilmesi önünde önemli bir risk ve dezavantaj olarak da görülebilmektedir. Yapılan bu araştırma ile uzaktan çalışma sürecinde kişilerin kendilerini takımın bir üyesi olarak hissetmesinin ne gibi faktörlerden etkilendiğinin tespit edilmesi amaçlanmıştır. Konuyla ilgili literatür taraması sonrasında uzaktan çalışmanın çalışanların kendilerini takım olarak hissedebilmesini ne şekilde etkilediğini anlayabilmek üzere üç ana kavramdan yararlanılmıştır: Güven, Takım Uyumu, Süreç/Kararlardan Memnuniyet. Hazırlanan anketler doğrudan dağıtım ve kar topu örneklemi yöntemiyle katılımcılara dağıtılmış ve anket sonuçları SPSS uygulamasıyla analiz edilmiştir. Tüm dünyada uygulanmaya başlanan uzaktan çalışma süreciyle beraber kişilerin kendilerini takımın bir üyesi olarak hissedebilmesi için iş dışı konularda bir araya gelmenin önemli olduğu ortaya çıkmıştır.
... The literature shows several benefits of teleworking for both employers and employees. Some of the potential benefits of teleworking to employers include improved recruitment and retention of different types of workers [24][25][26][27], increased productivity [24,26,28,29], reduced absenteeism [30], and reduced expenses related to office space and other operating expenses [2,31]. The benefits to employees include improved work/family balance [24,28,[32][33][34], increased morale and job satisfaction [28,35], and reduced commute time [36]. ...
... Some challenges of teleworking are also documented in the literature including difficulty of separating work and family life [37], lack of career development and promotions due to out-of-sight, out-of-mind syndrome [38][39][40][41][42], and professional isolation [43,44]. Overall, if properly implemented, teleworking could help improving the performance of both employees and organizations [18,27]. ...
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A growing literature has pointed out disparities in teleworking among different racial and ethnic (hereafter racial) workers. This study estimated racial disparities in teleworking due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the extent to which these disparities were mediated by four-year college education and occupation in the United States. The data source for this study was the Current Population Survey, May 2020 through July 2021. The results showed that in the reduced model, the odds for Black and Hispanic workers to telework were 35% and 55% lower, respectively, and for Asian workers 44% higher than for White workers, controlling for covariates. When four-year college education and occupation were included as mediator variables in the model, the odds for Black and Hispanic workers to telework were reduced to 7% and 16%, respectively. Overall, disparities in four-year college education and occupation explained 83% and 78% of the variation in the odds of teleworking for Black and Hispanic workers, respectively. Between the mediators, occupation explained more than 60% of the total effect. The results of this study could not rule out the possibility of racial discrimination in teleworking. Ultimately, reducing racial disparities in four-year college education and in different occupations might be a long-term solution for reducing racial disparities in teleworking.
... This model, in conjunction with information from other articles, has been expanded in Figure 1 and updated to include modern technological advancements such as cloud computing [66,67] and modern pressures such as COVID-19 [29,68]. [25,29,[66][67][68][69][70][71][72]. ...
... Definitions for the generational progression of enabling technology for teleworking[25,29,[66][67][68][69][70][71][72]. ...
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A scientometric analysis of extant literature is conducted to elucidate upon the practicality of teleworking throughout industry as a prelude to prescribing a bespoke conceptual adoption model which embeds innovative digital technologies to facilitate teleworking for construction professionals. The model is premised upon the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) work stages and illustrates how technologies are being used at each incremental stage. An interpretivist philosophy and inductive reasoning were adopted using a sample of longitudinal secondary data contained within pertinent extant literature, where each publication constitutes a unit of analysis. The qualitative scientometric software VOSviewer and Voyant Tools were utilised to examine emergent research trends, with further manual review of prominent papers contained within the sample dataset. Four distinct historical advances are delineated in a timeline that describes the evolution of home-working from the 1970s through to the present day (and during the global COVID-19 pandemic). Key milestones delineated indicate how technological advances have created new opportunities for teleworking. The research indicates that an acceleration of digital advances has engendered modernity in contemporary work-location patterns and that these offer potentials to reduce the environmental impact of anthropogenic activities. This unique study highlights how COVID-19 and available digital technologies have shaped the future of teleworking from home and the potential environmental impact of such. This concludes by signposting directions for future research into the adoption of teleworking at the organisational level and establishing the cost and environmental savings to businesses from abandoning the traditional model of employer-based working.
... Teletrabajo. La denición operacional se establece a través de la escala unidimensional de 11 preguntas propuesta por Illegems et al. (2001), con un Alfa de Cronbach de 0.90 y una escala likert de siete niveles. La denición conceptual de la variable trata de las ventajas potenciales percibidas por el empleado trabajando de forma remota. ...
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Resumen: Las demandas laborales pueden ocasionar un estrés permanente que deteriora las relaciones interpersonales. Por eso, esta investigación tiene como objetivo valorar si el teletrabajo y su intensidad conducen a respuestas de desconexión personal (despersonalización) utilizando a la creatividad como variable moderadora. El análisis estadístico se realiza mediante un modelo de ecuaciones estructurales con moderación. Los resultados revelan que el teletrabajo y su intensidad atenúan la despersonalización a través del apoyo social percibido, la sensación de autonomía, la igualdad de género y la reducción del con icto trabajo-familia. Sin embargo, el teletrabajo, cuando necesita respuestas creativas constantes y no gestiona adecuadamente los recursos del empleado favorece un tipo de estrés crónico que deriva en fracturas emocionales. Esta investigación destaca que un entorno virtual de trabajo maduro y orientado al ser humano se transforma en un medio idóneo para personas altamente formadas. Además, el número de días teletrabajados mejora el equilibrio emocional del empleado al inuir positivamente sobre el control de la tarea. Finalmente, las demandas creativas asociadas al teletrabajo son beneciosas cuando la presión del tiempo deja de ser un obstáculo. Abstract: Work demands can lead to permanent stress that deteriorates interpersonal relationships. erefore, this research aims to assess whether telework and its intensity lead to personal disengagement responses (depersonalisation) using creativity as a moderating variable. Statistical analysis is performed using structural equation modelling with moderation. e results reveal that telework and its intensity attenuate depersonalisation through perceived social support, sense of autonomy, gender equality and reduction of work-family conict. However, telework, when it requires constant creative responses and does not adequately manage the employee's resources, favours a type of chronic stress that leads to emotional fractures. is research highlights that a mature, human-oriented virtual work environment becomes an ideal environment for highly educated people. In addition, the number of telework days improves the employee's emotional balance by positively inuencing task control. Finally, the creative demands associated with teleworking are benecial when time pressure is no longer an obstacle. Resumo: As demandas de trabalho podem levar a um estresse permanente que deteriora os relacionamentos interpessoais. Portanto, esta pesquisa tem como objetivo avaliar se o teletrabalho e sua intensidade levam a respostas de desinteresse pessoal (despersonalização) usando a criatividade como variável moderadora. A análise estatística é realizada por meio de modelagem de equações estruturais com moderação. Os resultados revelam que o teletrabalho e sua intensidade atenuam a despersonalização por meio do apoio social percebido, do senso de autonomia, da igualdade de gênero e da redução do conito trabalho-família. Entretanto, o teletrabalho, quando exige respostas criativas constantes e não gerencia adequadamente os recursos do funcionário, favorece um tipo de estresse crônico que leva a fraturas emocionais. Esta pesquisa destaca que um ambiente de trabalho virtual maduro e orientado para o ser humano torna-se um ambiente ideal para pessoas com alto grau de instrução. Além disso, o número de dias de teletrabalho melhora o equilíbrio emocional do funcionário ao inAEuenciar positivamente o controle de tarefas. Por fim, as demandas criativas associadas ao teletrabalho são benéǼcas quando a pressão do tempo não é mais um obstáculo. Palavras-chave: Teletrabalho, cinismo, despersonalização, exaustão emocional, criatividade, setor elétrico colombiano.
... Teletrabajo. La denición operacional se establece a través de la escala unidimensional de 11 preguntas propuesta por Illegems et al. (2001), con un Alfa de Cronbach de 0.90 y una escala likert de siete niveles. La denición conceptual de la variable trata de las ventajas potenciales percibidas por el empleado trabajando de forma remota. ...
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Una exposición ininterrumpida a altas demandas laborales puede derivar en un estrés permanente que deteriore las relaciones interpersonales. Por eso, esta investigación tiene como objetivo valorar si el teletrabajo y su intensidad conducen a respuestas de desconexión personal (cinismo) utilizando a la creatividad como variable moderadora. El teletrabajo y su intensidad atenúan la despersonalización a través de aspectos críticos como el apoyo social percibido, la sensación de autonomía, la igualdad de género y la reducción del conflicto trabajo-familia. Sin embargo, el teletrabajo, cuando necesita respuestas creativas constantes y no gestiona adecuadamente los recursos del empleado favorece un tipo de estrés crónico que deriva en fracturas emocionales. La racionalización del puesto de trabajo es un factor decisivo en el bienestar laboral.
... Esta escala de una sola dimensión fue elaborada por Illegems et al. (2001). Consta de once preguntas y un Alpha de Cronbach de 0,90. ...
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El sector eléctrico colombiano afronta multitud de desafíos pospandemia y, entre ellos, está el decidir si el teletrabajo continúa siendo la forma predominante de organización laboral. Por eso, esta investigación pretende valorar cómo el teletrabajo influye en la autoeficacia del empleado a través de la motivación intrínseca como variable mediadora, la creatividad como factor moderador y la cantidad de días teletrabajados a modo de covariable. El estudio es cuantitativo, no experimental, transversal y correlacional causal. La muestra está compuesta por 448 trabajadores evaluados mediante una encuesta en línea. De los resultados cabe destacar que el teletrabajo es un escenario apropiado para incrementar la autoeficacia laboral de personas con alta formación. Asimismo, la cantidad de días teletrabajados repercute posi-tivamente en los índices de autoeficacia y motivación intrínseca. Además, la creatividad y la autoeficacia laboral se asocian, por consi-guiente, a mayores niveles de creatividad percibidos el empleado tiene una mejor capacidad para hacer frente a las exigencias laborales mediante estrategias conductuales que lo hacen más competente. Por último, la motivación intrínseca media la relación entre teletrabajo y autoeficacia. En conclusión, el teletrabajo es clave para que el empleado pueda optimizar su autoeficacia a través de mecanismos como la autonomía, la persistencia, la disciplina, la estabilidad emocional, la motivación intrínseca y la creatividad.
... The subject of remote work and related research started in the late twentieth century. Although remote work was referred to as the future work style in the early 1990s, it was not widely adopted by many company managers in the following years (Illegems et al., 2001). The reasons for the lack of widespread adoption of remote work in the business world include concerns about digital security, increased information technology costs, blurring of work and life boundaries, loss of control over work-related matters, confusion between work and family, and working during vacation time (Tuna & Türkmendağ, 2020). ...
... Todas las variables de este estudio se evaluaron mediante una escala Likert de seis puntos, donde uno indica "totalmente en desacuerdo" y seis "totalmente de acuerdo" Teletrabajo. Constructo unidimensional compuesto por 11 ítems según Illegems et al. (2001). Medida utilizada por Santiago-Torner (2023g) o Santiago-Torner et al. (2023a) con un Alfa de Cronbach (α) de .90. ...
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RESUMEN Este estudio examina la asociación entre teletrabajo y clima ético considerando la intervención de la autonomía laboral y del compromiso organizacional. La muestra incluye a 448 empleados pertenecientes al sector eléctrico colombiano. Los datos se recopilan mediante una encuesta online y se analizan a través de un esquema de mediación múltiple. Los resultados revelan que el teletrabajo y sus beneficios se relacionan con los climas éticos benevolente y de principios, pero no con el egoísta. De hecho, el teletrabajo emerge desde lo individual pero su flexibilidad busca acercar a las personas y apoyar el trabajo de equipo, por eso se aleja de un clima que prioriza el interés propio. Asimismo, un entorno virtual confiere al empleado la capacidad de trabajar de una forma autónoma lo que se asocia con una mayor productividad e igualdad de género junto con un menor conflicto trabajo-familia. La autonomía, se traduce en satisfacción laboral lo que limita las intenciones de rotación y las ausencias no justificadas. Por otro lado, las decisiones autónomas se relacionan con los diferentes climas éticos, a excepción del egoísta, pues la esencia de la autogestión busca respetar las normas y reglamentos que un clima egoísta tiende a infringir. Finalmente, el teletrabajo al influir positivamente en los intereses personales activa el compromiso afectivo y normativo, por igual, pero incide en menor medida sobre el compromiso de continuidad. Para terminar, el compromiso organizacional se relaciona positivamente con el clima ético al igual que con sus tres dimensiones: egoísta, benevolente y de principios. No obstante, el clima egoísta no repercute en las escalas afectiva y normativa del compromiso. En conclusión, la autonomía laboral y el compromiso organizacional median satisfactoriamente la relación positiva entre teletrabajo y clima ético. ABSTRACT This article examines the relationship between teleworking and ethical climate considering the intervention of job autonomy and organizational commitment.
... The subject of remote work and related research started in the late twentieth century. Although remote work was referred to as the future work style in the early 1990s, it was not widely adopted by many company managers in the following years (Illegems et al., 2001). The reasons for the lack of widespread adoption of remote work in the business world include concerns about digital security, increased information technology costs, blurring of work and life boundaries, loss of control over work-related matters, confusion between work and family, and working during vacation time (Tuna & Türkmendağ, 2020). ...
... Todas las variables de este estudio se evaluaron mediante una escala Likert de seis puntos, donde uno indica "totalmente en desacuerdo" y seis "totalmente de acuerdo" Teletrabajo. Constructo unidimensional compuesto por 11 ítems según Illegems et al. (2001). Medida utilizada por Santiago-Torner (2023g) o Santiago-Torner et al. (2023a) con un Alfa de Cronbach (α) de .90. ...
Article
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Este estudio examina la asociación entre teletrabajo y clima ético considerando la intervención de la autonomía laboral y del compromiso organizacional. La muestra incluye 448 empleados pertenecientes al sector eléctrico colombiano. Los datos se recopilan mediante una encuesta online y se analizan a través de un esquema de mediación múltiple. Los resultados revelan que el teletrabajo y sus beneficios se relacionan con los climas éticos benevolente y de principios, pero no con el egoísta. De hecho, el teletrabajo emerge desde lo individual pero su flexibilidad busca acercar a las personas y apoyar el trabajo de equipo. Asimismo, un entorno virtual confiere al empleado la capacidad de trabajar de una forma autónoma lo que se asocia con una mayor productividad e igualdad de género junto con un menor conflicto trabajo-familia. La autonomía, se traduce en satisfacción laboral lo que limita las intenciones de rotación y las ausencias no justificadas. Por otro lado, las decisiones autónomas se relacionan con los diferentes climas éticos, a excepción del egoísta, pues la esencia de la autogestión busca respetar las normas y reglamentos que un clima egoísta tiende a infringir. Finalmente, el teletrabajo al influir positivamente en los intereses personales activa el compromiso afectivo y normativo, por igual, pero incide en menor medida sobre el compromiso de continuidad. El compromiso organizacional se relaciona positivamente con el clima ético al igual que con sus tres dimensiones: egoísta, benevolente y de principios. No obstante, el clima egoísta no repercute en las escalas afectiva y normativa del compromiso.
... The energy crisis in the early 1970s and the alleged advantages of TW led several academicians to predict its common adoption when the 20th Century ended [3]. However, this prediction was not accomplished at the beginning of the 21st Century [4] or the 2010s [5,6] in many territories. Differences in work regulations and practices, labor market idiosyncrasies, and the degree of development of the ICT infrastructure can explain the differences in their degree of development across countries and territories until 2020 [6]. ...
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This study explores the drivers of employees' attitudes towards home teleworking with Tobit regression and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA). Drawing from technology acceptance models, it derives hypotheses regarding variable relationships and telecommuting perceptions. Data were obtained from a survey with 3104 responses conducted by the Spanish Agency "Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas" in Spring 2021. The results emphasize the pivotal role of the family-life impact in shaping telecommuting perceptions, alongside factors like location, ICT satisfaction , employer support, and job adaptability. The results from fsQCA reveal an asymmetric influence of input factors on the positive and negative evaluations. Positive perceptions are associated with family-life positivity, firm support, strong ICT, and non-provincial residence, while negative attitudes relate to family-life negativity, lack of employer support, and poor connectivity. The main innovation of this paper lies in the combined use of correlational and configurational methods, enriching insights into employee telecommuting perceptions beyond traditional regression analysis.
... Teleworking One-dimensional scale of 11 questions proposed by Illegems et al. (2001), with a Cronbach's Alpha of 0.90 and a seven-level Likert scale. It evaluates the employees' self-perception about the potential advantages of teleworking. ...
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The study of the effect of virtual work environments on the emotional health of employees has received considerable attention in recent years. However, there has been insufficient research on how uninterrupted exposure to high job demands can lead to permanent stress, which deteriorates interpersonal relationships, to the point of draining them of affection. The study aims to examine the impact of telework intensity on cynicism (second dimension of burnout or depersonalisation) through two indirect effects: creativity and the number of days teleworked per week. A sample of 448 university-educated employees from the Colombian electricity sector was selected, who completed an online survey. The data were statistically analysed using a simple moderation model. In general, the results show that telework intensity favours employee behavioural adaptation, which buffers potential depersonalisation, through key characteristics such as: perceived social support, participation in decision-making, sense of autonomy, gender equality and reduced work-family conflict. However, when the tasks associated with teleworking require creative solutions continuously, and the employee’s resources are not properly managed, recurrent stress can lead to an emotional fracture that deteriorates the employee’s well-being. In conclusion, the protection of the employee’s emotional health depends on a balanced workplace structure that avoids a constant mismatch between available resources and creative demands.
... Escala unidimensional de 11 preguntas propuesta por Illegems et al. (2001), con un alfa de Cronbach de .90 y una escala Likert de 7 niveles. ...
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El sector eléctrico colombiano ha impulsado políticas organizacionales fundamentadas en la inclusión y el bienestar de la sociedad en general, que pretenden trasladarse al teletrabajo a través de un estilo de liderazgo ético. Sin embargo, el egoísmo —que se caracteriza por maximizar el interés propio como base de razonamiento moral—, es un factor subyacente que puede deteriorar cualquier iniciativa que busque un equilibrio institucional justo e íntegro, mediante un clima ético donde las decisiones descuiden las necesidades colectivas. Por consiguiente, el objetivo de esta investigación es determinar la relación entre un clima laboral egoísta y el teletrabajo, a través del rol moderador de liderazgo ético. El estudio aplicó un diseño cuantitativo, transversal y correlacional explicativo. La muestra fue de 448 empleados evaluados por una encuesta en línea. Se encontró que el clima ético egoísta (X) y el liderazgo ético (W) se asocian significativamente con el teletrabajo (Y). Sin embargo, cuando el liderazgo ético regula la relación entre las variables independiente y dependiente (θX → Y/W), se hace visible que a mayor percepción de una dirección ética más débil se torna el efecto del clima egoísta sobre el teletrabajo hasta desaparecer. En conclusión, el sector eléctrico colombiano, por su enfoque en la responsabilidad social y erradicación de conductas deshonestas mediante un liderazgo ético, no es compatible con un clima laboral egoísta. De hecho, el impulsar una cultura de trabajo, a través del interés propio, neutraliza todo el esfuerzo ético propuesto por el sector eléctrico colombiano en los últimos siete años, puesto que su finalidad ha sido propender por iniciativas sociales e inclusivas.
... First, a fundamental environmental characteristic of remote work is the availability of digital artifacts and connectivity which is a prerequisite for remote work even though this is not a driver per se to transition from co-located work to remote work (Vilhelmson and Thulin, 2016). Challenges to sustainable remote work related to the work environment are to balance the constant connectedness that these artifacts can enable and the social isolation when work does not automatically entail social meetings (Illegems et al., 2001). Second, challenges related to job characteristics involve crafting a supporting and trustful culture (Krumm et al., 2016) involving suitable control mechanisms and mutual trust relationships between workers and managers (Guimaraes and Dallow, 1999;O'Neill et al., 2009). ...
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This review discusses the challenges associated with the sustainability of remote workplaces, which have become more prevalent due to the growing trend of work digitalization and the pandemic-induced push to remote work. These challenges are highlighted in literature across various disciplines, including information systems, but these discourses have remained isolated from each other. In this review, we consolidated and synthesized research on remote work from the perspective of individual workers by reviewing 187 articles published between 1999 and 2020 in recognized academic journals from fields including information systems, organizational studies, economics, human resources, sociology, and psychology. We identified five key themes that concern opportunities and challenges to sustainable remote workplaces: (1) key characteristics , (2) work-life boundaries; (3) health and well-being; (4) social interaction, and (5) leadership. Building on our findings we created a framework that recognizes two interrelated categories of factors influencing remote workplace sustainability-rigid base characteristics and contextual remote workplace variables-that together shape the trajectory of remote workplace sustainability in the long term. The framework also identifies the potential role of information systems in modulating the impact of the base characteristics to build continuities that encourage more sustainable remote workplaces. The paper concludes by offering a research agenda for information systems for sustainable remote workplaces based on the three IS theoretical frames: inclusion, dignity, and boundary objects.
... Teletrabajo: escala de una sola dimensión compuesta por once preguntas, sugerida por Illegems et al. (2001), con un alfa de Cronbach de 0.90, aplicada a través de una escala de Likert de siete niveles. Se analizan los beneficios asociados al teletrabajo. ...
Article
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El teletrabajo es un recurso laboral que, con ciertas adaptaciones, puede actuar como un agente de bienestar emocional, regular el conflicto trabajo-familia y activar procesos organizacionales clave como la motivación intrínseca y el comportamiento creativo. Esta investigación tiene como objetivo principal estudiar la relación entre el teletrabajo y el comportamiento creativo, analizando el papel moderador de la motivación intrínseca entre esas dos variables. El modelo se contrasta a partir de una muestra compuesta por 273 hombres y 175 mujeres con estudios universitarios. El teletrabajo y su intensidad se relacionan de forma curvilínea con la motivación intrínseca y el comportamiento creativo. No obstante, el diseño de la curva no adquiere una forma de U invertida; es decir, el número de días teletrabajados y sus beneficios asociados, al progresar, no disminuyen gradualmente la motivación intrínseca y la creatividad del empleado. Así mismo, el teletrabajo y sus ventajas estimulan el comportamiento creativo solo cuando la motivación intrínseca alcanza niveles medios o altos. Sin duda, el teletrabajo se convierte en un hábitat idóneo para empleados con alta formación académica, pues integra necesidades psicológicas básicas que explican el modo en que la motivación intrínseca se asocia con algunos rasgos de la personalidad; además, este vínculo produce respuestas novedosas, útiles y adaptativas. Sin embargo, la eficacia del teletrabajo y el evitar el aislamiento social es una responsabilidad compartida que requiere un esfuerzo ininterrumpido entre organización y empleado.
... Para la medida de las variables se aplican los instrumentos siguientes: Teletrabajo: traducción al español de la escala de una única dimensión compuesta de 11 preguntas sugeridas por Illegems et al. (2001), según las directrices propuestas por Muñiz et al. (2013); es decir, traducción literal, retro traducción a través de más de un experto y, al final, revisión de la equivalencia conceptual. Se evalúa la autopercepción que tiene el empleado sobre las ventajas potenciales del teletrabajo. ...
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Esta investigación tiene como objetivo evaluar el efecto del teletrabajo sobre el desempeño creativo en empleados profesionales a través de tres variables mediadoras: la autonomía laboral, la autoeficacia y la autoeficacia creativa. La investigación aplica un diseño cuantitativo-correlacional. La muestra es de 448 empleados evaluados online. De los resultados destaca que el teletrabajo es un escenario idóneo para que los empleados con alta formación académica puedan ampliar su desempeño creativo. De hecho, la autonomía laboral, la autoeficacia y la autoeficacia creativa son tres características asociadas a la tarea o a la personalidad del individuo que intensifican esa relación actuando a modo de recurso laboral. Además, el trabajar dos o más días por semana de forma remota se asocia con un desempeño creativo estable. No obstante, el teletrabajo de baja intensidad, específicamente el de sólo un día, disminuye considerablemente la autopercepción de desempeño creativo. Por último, los resultados también revelan diferencias de género en la autoevaluación creativa, de manera que las mujeres tienen una conciencia de ideas originales sensiblemente inferior a los hombres, en especial, cuando sólo se teletrabaja un día por semana.
... Due to advancements in ICT, WFH is distinguished by the freedom from restrictions associated with working in a formal and fixed workplace [ 16 ]. WFH was proposed as a contemporary human resource policy for organizations before the COVID-19 pandemic, and it has led to a clear trend that is firmly established in society [ 17,18 ]. By avoiding lengthy commutes, avoiding office politics, having less workplace distractions, and having more opportunities to achieve a better work-life balance, it helps people be more productive [ 19 , 20 ]. ...
Article
The study objective explored the changing nature of COVID-19′s emergence on work-from-home productivity in South Africa. Studies show that the formerly coveted, highly attractive work-from-home (WFH) did not show to be one of the best solutions for most employees. The study contributes to the adoption and integration of innovative technologies in the area of information communication technologies (ICT), to improve employees' productivity at the workplace as work from home (WFH). However, WFH is still popular, but not in its current form. The study suggested that better government rules and regulations should be in place to properly regulate and make WFH practicable for all employees in South Africa. The study adopted a survey method for data collection through a structured questionnaire that was administered to selected participants. The study also reviews available literature on the topic under investigation while relying on secondary data as sources of information and analyzing them based on content. The study applied the Trust-Based Working Theory. The study finds that the decision to cease in-person meetings and work was made quickly upon the arrival of COVID-19 but without any instructions on how to do so. It was recommended that the guidance on adjusting to distant online work is one area of policy where preparation and execution are very necessary.
... Teleworking. One-dimensional scale of 11 questions proposed by Illegems, Verbeke and S'Jegers (2001), with a Cronbach's Alpha of .90 and a seven-level Likert scale. It evaluates the employees' self-perception about the potential advantages of teleworking. ...
Article
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Purpose: After two years during which teleworking has been a temporary obligation, the Colombian electricity sector needs to analyze the effect of this type of work on the well-being of employees.Design/Methodology/Approach: Therefore, this research aims to consider whether teleworking (independent variable) and its intensity, together with an implicit extension of the workday, emotionally exhaust (dependent variable) the members of the different organizations studied. Likewise, it is critical to know if affective commitment acts as a causal mediating process and if creativity influences and moderates the relationship between the variables studied. Consequently, a quantitative, cross-sectional, correlational-causal design is used with a sample of 448 teleworkers.Findings: Regarding the results, teleworking and its intensity reduce emotional exhaustion and increase affective commitment. Furthermore, affective commitment acts as a mediating mechanism that tends to reduce exhaustion. However, teleworking when accompanied by an excess of creative demands and a lack of assessment of employees’ resources, gradually contributes to exhaustion. Finally, the extension of the workday reduces affective commitment and increases emotional exhaustion.Research Limitations/Implications: A sector study reduces the generalization of results. Alongside, transversality restricts the accuracy of the temporal relationship between variables.Practical Implications: Developing time management skills is key in teleworking. Also, setting reasonable learning deadlines will reduce possible emotional exhaustion. Finally, leadership has a basic role in digital disconnection policies.Social implications: The perception that teleworking consolidates the work-family axis and equalizes genders is essential for companies to provide well-being in addition to being sustainable.Originality/value: This research will have an impact on immediate decision-making that the Colombian electricity sector may have. Additionally, it can be useful for other industrial segments.
... Working from home (interchangeably referred to as telework or remote work) is not a novel concept, as it had been practiced to some extent in the pre-COVID-19 era. For instance, in the 1970s, remote work was thought to be a means to minimize the heavy reliance on the importation of fuel for transport [21,22], and work arrangement for future telework [23]. Furthermore, some small businesses used part of their home for provision stores (selling simple groceries, among other items) [24]. ...
Article
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During the COVID-19 pandemic, working from home has unquestionably become one of the most extensively employed techniques to minimize unemployment, keep society operating, and shield the public from the virus. However, the impacts of work-from-home (WFH) on employee productivity and performance is not fully known; studies on the subject are fragmented and in different contexts. The purpose of this study is therefore to provide systematic review on the impact of WFH on employee productivity and performance. A sample of 26 studies out of 112 potential studies (from various databases, including Scopus, Google Scholar, and the Web of Science database from 2020 to 2022) were used after a comprehensive literature search and thorough assessment based on PRISMA-P guidelines. Findings reveal that the impact of the WFH model on employee productivity and performance depend on a host of factors, such as the nature of the work, employer and industry characteristics, and home settings, with a majority reporting a positive impact and few documenting no difference or a negative impact. This study recommends that an improvement in technology and information technology (IT) training and capacity-building would yield more significant results to those who are willing to adopt the WFH model even after the pandemic.
... ICTs made it possible to organize new forms of work outside the workplace. With the expansion of occupations that involved creating, transforming and disseminating information rather than physical materials, telework became feasible across a broad spectrum of occupations (see Illegems et al., 2001;Taskim and Edwards, 2007;Bloom et al., 2015). The COVID-19 global pandemic and the (forced) massive shift toward homeworking have led to a renewed need for research on how this type of work arrangement is distributed by occupation. ...
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The global COVID-19 pandemic acted as an exogenous shock that forced organizations to adopt homeworking as a common form of work for many occupations. Drawing on a real-time cross-occupational qualitative survey, we first examined how compulsory homeworking affected workers’ freedom to define and perform their tasks. Second, we analyzed how different forms of control developed under the new organization of work. Specifically, we studied how the outcomes varied by occupation and along the vertical division of labour. Our findings agree with those of labour process theorists who argue that personal, bureaucratic and technical forms of control complement each other, rather than being stages of a linear succession.
... Long before the COVID-19 pandemic, WFH had already been suggested as a modern human resource policy for organizations, and it has resulted in a definite trend firmly entrenched in society (Illegems, Verbeke and S'Jegers 2001;Stanek and Mokhtarian 1998). It enables employees to be more productive by avoiding long commutes, skirting office politics, having fewer office distractions, and giving more chance to develop a better work-life balance (Hopkins and McKay 2019; Nakro sien_ e, Bu ci unien_ e and Go stau-tait_ e 2019). ...
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Despite being a worldwide disaster, the COVID‐19 pandemic has also provided an opportunity for renewed discussion about the way we work. By contextualizing in the early periods of China's ending of lockdown policy on COVID‐19, this paper offers evidence to respond to an essential discussion in the field of working from home (WFH): In terms of job performance, can WFH replace working from the office (WFO)? The present study compares job performance in terms of quality and productivity between WFH and WFO from 861 Chinese respondents using entropy balance matching, a quasi‐experimental methodology. Results reveal that WFH enhances job performance in terms of job quality but lowers it in terms of job productivity. In addition, the present study aims to capture and empirically measure the variations in fundamental job characteristics in terms of job control and job demand between WFH and WFO by applying the job demand control support model. More specifically, we find that job control items, such as ‘talking right’ and ‘work rate’, and job demand items, such as ‘a long time of intense concentration’ and ‘hecticness of the job’, are vital factors that contribute to how these differences exert influence on employees' performance in the context of the pandemic.
... The majority of responding organisations had already implemented policies and guidelines for remote work (63%) across all or part of the organisation. However, in 37% of the participating organisations no policies were implemented, which would make remote working difficult in large parts of these companies prior to the enactment of laws and directives to contain the pandemic in 2020, since employees need to have sufficient information about the possibilities, restrictions and advantages of remote work for adopting this mode of work (Illegems et al., 2001). 3.5 Responsibilities for remote working ...
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##### Download: https://hbz.opus.hbz-nrw.de/opus45-kola/frontdoor/index/index/docId/2310 ##### The Remote Working Study 2022 is focused on the transition to work from home (WFH) triggered by the stay at home directives of 2020. These directives required employees to work in their private premises wherever possible to reduce the transmission of the coronavirus. The study, conducted by the Center for Enterprise Information Research (CEIR) at the University of Koblenz from December 2021 to January 2022, explores the transition to remote working. The objective of the survey is to collect baseline information about organisations’ remote work experiences during and immediately following the COVID-19 lockdowns. The survey was completed by the key persons responsible for the implementation and/or management of the digital workplace in 19 German and Swiss organisations. The data presented in this report was collected from member organisations of the IndustryConnect initiative. IndustryConnect is a university-industry research programme that is coordinated by researchers from the University of Koblenz. It focuses on research in the areas of the digital workplace and enterprise collaboration technologies, and facilitates the generation of new research insights and the exchange of experiences among user companies.
... Another prevalent theme in the literature reflects that remote work can generate surveillance and monitoring mechanisms by managers (Valsecchi 2006). Pre-pandemic research on telework and employment relationships have also investigated perceived social and economic advantages and disadvantages of working from home (Illegems, Verbeke, and S'Jegers 2001). ...
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Popular representations of remote work often depict it as a flexible, technologically feasible, and family-friendly work arrangement. Have the images of remote working as a desirable work arrangement been challenged by the COVID-19 pandemic? What have we learned from the widespread involuntary remote work imposed on many employees during this time? To answer these questions, we analysed 40 recent empirical studies that examined work-life balance while working from home during the pandemic. Our analysis was informed by the person-environment fit theory and complemented by literature reviews on remote work conducted prior to the pandemic. We found four themes representing misfits between desirable expectations and the undesirable realities of remote work: (1) flextime vs. work intensity, (2) flexplace vs. space limitation, (3) technologically-feasible work arrangementvs. technostress and isolation, and (4) family-friendly work arrangement vs. housework and care intensity. We highlight the important role HRD practitioners can play in assisting employees to achieve a fit between their expectations and experiences of remote work.
... Teleworking offers intriguing advantages to both the company and the employee. It is commonly believed that teleworking allows for better integration of family life and work through more flexible planning of job-related responsibilities and that teleworkers might feel more fulfilled than office-based workers (Baruch, 2000;Dima et al., 2019;Fonner & Roloff, 2010;Illegems et al., 2001). It also has the potential to lower an organization's overhead costs and maximize staffing flexibility. ...
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Due to societal distancing norms and nationwide lockdowns, the COVID-19 pandemic has inevitably resulted in increased use of new technology, and most institutions are shifting to home-based telework [or work from home (WFH)]. The downside of working from home has been described as a high level of job stress, which significantly affects employee mental well-being. This essay explains how home-based teleworking during a pandemic affects work-related stress and, further, employee job performance. A literature review revealed that job overload and organizational discomfort have a negative impact on employee anxiety. Meanwhile, as the barrier between personal and work lives was lifted during the pandemic, workers were unable to contribute constructively to the job. On that account, it is critical to establish distinctions between working from home and personal life. Proper training is needed if work from home is to become a feasible working option or the current norm.
... Technological advances since the publication of that research may have increased the capacity of employers to facilitate flexible work, but willingness remains mixed. A 2001 study of employers in Belgium found that the barriers to flexible work adoption were largely institutional rather than technological (Illegems et al., 2001). Handy and Mokhtarian (1996b) provides a good summary of early corporate resistance to flexible work, which includes concerns about productivity, supervision and morale loss due to "officelessness". ...
Preprint
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A gradual growth in flexible work over many decades has been suddenly and dramatically accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The share of flexible work days in the United States is forecasted to grow from 4\% in 2018 to over 26\% by 2022. This rapid and unexpected shift in the nature of work will have a profound effect on the demand for, and supply of, urban transportation. Understanding how people make decisions around where and with whom to work will be critical for predicting future travel patterns and designing mobility systems to serve flexible commuters. To that end, this paper establishes a formal taxonomy for describing possible flexible work arrangements, the stakeholders involved and the relationships between them. An analytical framework is then developed for adapting existing transportation models to incorporate the unique dynamics of flexible work location choice. Several examples are provided to demonstrate how the new taxonomy and analytical framework can be applied across a broad set of scenarios. Finally, a critical research agenda is proposed to create both the empirical knowledge and methodological tools to prepare urban mobility for the future of work.
... Literature reviews have revealed mixed results about the relationship between firm size and telework adoption [20,36]. On the one hand, Sarbu [37,38] showed that telework adoption is more diffuse in SMEs due to their more task participative and people-centered culture; on the other hand, Illegems et al. [39] suggested that telework requires a deeper job redesign, resources, and competencies that only larger organizations possess. Home-based telework, especially during COVID-19, has involved essential and sometimes onerous changes in the work organization and the relationship between employees, supervisors, and firms [19]. ...
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Although a large part of the world’s workforce engaged in mandatory Work from Home during the COVID-19 pandemic, the experience was not the same for everyone. This study explores whether different groups of employees, based on their work and organizational characteristics (i.e., organizational size, number of days per week working from home, working in team) and personal characteristics (i.e., remote work experience, having children at home), express different beliefs about working remotely, acceptance of the technology necessary to Work from Home, and well-being. A study was conducted with 163 Italian workers who answered an online questionnaire from November 2020 to January 2021. A cluster analysis revealed that work, organizational, and personal variables distinguish five different types of workers. ANOVA statistics showed that remote workers from big companies who worked remotely several days a week, had experience (because they worked remotely before the national lockdowns), and worked in a team, had more positive beliefs about working remotely, higher technology acceptance, and better coping strategies, compared to the other groups of workers. Practical implications to support institutional and organizational decision-makers and HR managers to promote remote work and employee well-being are presented.
... As stressed by a large strand of literature, during the last decades the expansion of occupations characterised by material tasks related to the creation, transformation and dissemination of information rather than physical outputs enabled the technical feasibility of telework across a wide spectrum of occupations (see Illegems et al., 2001;Taskim and Edwards, 2007;Bloom et al. 2015), although still not the majority in terms of employment. The outbreak of the Covid-19 global pandemic and the (forced) massive shift toward homeworking reinvigorates the production of new evidence on the potential distribution of this type of work arrangement from an occupational standpoint. ...
Conference Paper
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The global pandemic induced by the spread of the Covid-19 acted as an exogenous shock which forced organisations to adopt telework as a daily and common form of work along a relevant fraction of the occupational structure. Indeed, most of the growing contributions on telework focused on the estimation of employment which can work remotely, while less or any attention has been paid to the impact of the "new" work arrangement on the labour process. Our paper aims at filling this gap. Drawing from a real-time cross-professional, cross-organisational and cross-national qualitative survey, our research investigates two main and interrelated aspects. First, we show how organisations reacted to this shock in terms of autonomy and forms of control including standardisation and teamwork dimensions across different occupations and economic sectors. Second, we describe how and to which extent workers respond: adapting, resisting or appropriating the new organisation of work. More specifically, we study the effect on the above-mentioned dimensions across different occupations to highlight heterogeneity along the vertical division of labour. JEL classification: L23, M54, 033, J81.
... Uzaktan/evden çalışma, 1990'ların başlarında geleceğin çalışma şekli olarak belirtilmiştir. Fakat model, işletmeler tarafından fazla benimsenmemiş ve uygulanmamıştır (Illegems, Verbeke ve S'Jegers, 2001). Yıllar içerisinde uzaktan çalışan insanların sayısı kademeli olarak artış gösterse de, bu artış çok büyük oranlarda gerçekleşmemiştir. ...
Book
Bu eserde, birçok farklı alanda dijital dönüşüm ve dijital teknolojiler ele alınmış ve gerek literatür incelemeleri gerek güncel araştırma verileri ile dijital geleceğin resmi çizilmeye çalışılmıştır.
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The gig economy (temporary, contract, and freelance online jobs rather than permanent positions) is a component of the fourth industrial revolution and preview of future work. The rise of digital platforms has increased career opportunities and income potential, particularly for women. Yet, the sex-disaggregated evidence regarding platform usage, employment characteristics, and working motivations and satisfaction remains untapped. Using data from a quantitative survey of Bangladeshi gig workers (242 men and 201 women) conducted in 2022, this paper addresses these gaps between male and female workers. The gig economy appears to be gender-segregated across digital platform usages and working categories. Women tend to prioritize digital work options for managing multiple responsibilities, while men are often driven by the potential for higher income. This study conceptually utilized the two-factor theory and empirically ordered a probit model to identify gender differences in job satisfaction. Job satisfaction was significantly increased by work-life balance, monthly income, and social-media connection, while an increase in working hours, complexity in payment systems, and unstable networks all led to a decrease in job satisfaction. The findings have implications for the future growth of the gig economy, provide new insights into gender differences in job satisfaction, and underscore the need for gender-sensitive policies in the online labor market.
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El propósito de este estudio es determinar cómo el liderazgo ético influye sobre el teletrabajo y si la autonomía laboral, la autoeficacia y un clima ético benevolente explican esta asociación. El objeto de la investigación es el Sector Eléctrico Colombiano. La muestra está constituida por 273 hombres y 175 mujeres con estudios universitarios, el análisis estadístico se realiza a través de un proceso de mediación múltiple. Los resultados muestran que el liderazgo ético se relaciona proactivamente con los beneficios potenciales del teletrabajo a través del efecto causal de las tres variables mediadoras. El líder ético transfiere confianza, equilibrio y apoyo lo que repercute en la capacidad del seguidor para utilizar sus criterios de forma autónoma y afrontar obstáculos con una alta autoeficacia. Asimismo, el líder ético cuando progresa a través de un clima que tiene como máxima consideración el interés por el grupo es fácil que, además de limitar el estrés laboral, influya significativamente en el eje trabajo/familia, en la igualdad de género, en la retención del personal clave o en la reducción del absentismo laboral que son algunos beneficios potenciales asociados al teletrabajo. En conclusión, la autogestión eficiente cuando se une con un hábitat de conductas morales que tiene en cuenta los intereses de grupo y la responsabilidad social ajusta al líder ético con las ventajas de un entorno virtual de trabajo.
Conference Paper
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Workplace flexibility practices gained momentum during the last years as it is beneficial for employees as well as organizations, e.g., in recruiting and retaining highly qualified employees in the war for talent (Beham et al., 2015; Illegems and Verbeke, 2004; Illegems et al., 2001; Iscan and Naktiyok, 2005; Kossek et al., 2006). Especially the flexibility to work where and when enables employees – and is therefore advantageous for those – to work anytime and anywhere, like in cafes, train stations etc. (Hill et al., 2008; Kingma, 2016; Oldenburg, 2001, 1999; Oldenburg and Brissett, 1982). This work is re-visiting previous research which raised the claim for analyzing all types of workplace flexibility practices in one all-encompassing model in small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) (Tirrel et al., 2021a). Theoretically, it is based on the flexibility firm theory (Chatterjee et al., 2022; Rodgers, 1992). Previous studies, like that of Martínez-Sánchez et al. (2008) as well as Whyman and Petrescu (2015) focus on certain individual but not all comprehensive workplace flexibility practices. However, this combined analysis offers the possibility to identify and analyze interdependencies between workplace flexibility practices (Whyman and Petrescu, 2015). Moreover, previous research is lacking the aspects of information and communication technology (ICT) as well as trust when researching flexible work. Especially the combination of ICT and leaderships calls for heightened attention (Chatterjee et al., 2023; Van Wart et al. 2017; Tirrel et al., 2022, 2021b) as information sharing and communication are possible without working at the same location or time (Cowan, 2014; Darics, 2020; Hou, 2020; Kingma, 2016; Sharpp et al., 2019). This comprises the gap for this research and leads to the following research questions: RQ1: Is there any influence of workplace flexibility practices on company performance? RQ2: How can workplace flexibility practices influence each other? RQ3: Is there any influence of (1) leadership, (2) ICT or (3) trust on flexible work? Thus, a conceptual framework based on existing literature and qualitative research (Tirrel et al., 2021a) will be analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) (Hair et al., 2022). Thus, hypotheses were derived which will be analyzed using SmartPLS version 3.3.9 (Ringle et al., 2015). According to Henseler (2017), this is the most comprehensive software for PLS-SEM analysis. After the measurement model analysis, the structural model will be analyzed, enabling the researcher to assess the significance and relevance of relationships (Hair et al., 2022). In addition, advanced PLS-SEM analysis, i.e., moderation and mediation analysis, will be conducted. Finally, the authors will present a validated model with its evaluated relationships. It is anticipated that the relevance of workplace flexibility practices in relation to SME performance is identified. This will make it easier for companies to decide whether to introduce and use workplace flexibility practices. Moreover, insights will be provided on how leadership works in flexible work arrangements and how ICT intervenes the relationship between leadership and working flexibly. Therefore, this study contributes to the theory of leadership as it is influenced by the skilled use of ICT. Furthermore, the analysis of the conceptual framework on workplace flexibility practices with their interrelations contributes to new knowledge.
Conference Paper
Work-life balance is a motivational factor that causes employees to work in the organization steadily in each situation. This study is aimed to examine the organizational characteristics that impact the work-life balance of teleworkers in the IT industry of Sri Lanka in the post-pandemic era. A thorough systematic literature review using the PRISMA framework was conducted to identify which characteristics influenced the work-life of teleworkers. Identified most appropriate characteristics were shortlisted by the industry expert. The conceptual framework was developed by using this past literature support, and then the actual characteristics were identified through the data analysis process. For this purpose, the questionnaires targeted employees who were working in the IT sector in Sri Lanka. samples (n = 149) were collected through online questionnaires and then collected samples were subjected to preliminary data analysis using the IBM SPSS tool to clean the data. Then PLS-SEM method was used to find the relationship between the variables. The study found that strategies are the most significant factor to determine a better work-life balance, though management support, technical support, and organizational culture have relationships between them but that are not significant factors to drive better work-life balance in the post-pandemic era. And the study concluded that if organizations need to more focus on strategies, especially job control, and decision-making strategies then they can maintain a better work-life balance for the IT sector employees in Sri Lanka after the pandemic period.
Article
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La repercusión del teletrabajo sobre la salud emocional de los empleados ha suscitado una amplia discusión académica. El debate sigue abierto y sin una explicación concluyente. Investigaciones previas establecen relaciones contradictorias: positivas o negativas; lineales o curvilíneas, pero con un rasgo común, los resultados son parciales o no acaban de concretarse. Por esa razón, el objetivo de esta investigación es analizar si el teletrabajo y sus beneficios atenúan sistemáticamente el agotamiento emocional o si la relación entre ambas variables tiene un punto de quiebre asociado con la intensidad laboral. Los resultados evidencian que el alcance del teletrabajo y el agotamiento emocional se relacionan mediante un esquema curvilíneo. Por lo tanto, los beneficios del teletrabajo disminuyen el agotamiento emocional cuando la intensidad laboral es baja o media; sin embargo, cuando el alcance del teletrabajo supera los cuatro días esa línea descendente cambia progresivamente su orientación hasta que la tendencia es perjudicial para el bienestar afectivo del empleado. La relación entre trabajo y agotamiento, por su complejidad, difícilmente puede ser lineal. Desde luego, un clima de exceso de trabajo o ciertos rasgos personales desvirtúan las características positivas del teletrabajo y los beneficios (recursos) se convierten en demandas. La incapacidad de desconexión laboral evita la recuperación y eso deriva, inevitablemente, en una sensación de insuficiencia emocional. La muestra es de 448 empleados y el análisis estadístico se realiza a través de un proceso de moderación simple.
Article
Telework, which changed the work patterns of public employees, has spread since the COVID-19 pandemic. This research examined the increase in telework use before the COVID-19 pandemic and during its peak. Subsequently, this study used logistic analysis to investigate differences in teleworking among federal employees by their demographics and explored whether leader and organizational support can help reduce such disparities in telework use. Using data from U.S. federal employees collected during the COVID-19, this investigation found that 71% of the respondents used telework more frequently since the outbreak of COVID-19, and disparities in telework use occurred by age, disability status, ethnic origins, and gender of federal employees before the COVID-19 pandemic and during its peak. However, while the leader and organizational support reduced the disparities in telework use by gender, such effects were not observed for age, disability status, and ethnic origins. These results can help public organizations develop effective management strategies to create a favorable organizational environment allowing middle-aged/older employees, employees with disabilities, and minority employees to work from home.
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The impact of teleworking on the emotional health of employees has been extensively discussed in academic literature. Nonetheless, the debate remains open and inconclusive. Previous research has established contradictory relationships, such as positive or negative, linear or curvilinear. However, one common feature of these studies is that the results are either partial or inconclusive. Therefore, this research aims to analyse whether teleworking and its benefits systematically alleviate emotional exhaustion or whether the relationship between the two variables has a turning point associated with work intensity. The results show that the relationship between teleworking and emotional exhaustion is curvilinear. Thus, the benefits of teleworking decrease emotional exhaustion when work intensity is low to medium. However, when teleworking exceeds four days per week, the downward trend progressively changes its orientation until the trend becomes detrimental to the employee's affective well-being. The relationship between teleworking and emotional exhaustion is complex and cannot be linearly modelled. Excessive work or certain personal traits can distort the positive characteristics of teleworking, and the benefits (resources) can become demands. Inability to disconnect from work prevents recovery and inevitably leads to a sense of emotional inadequacy. The sample size was 448 employees, and statistical analysis was done through a simple moderation process.
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O objetivo do artigo foi propor um conjunto de diretrizes para normatização do teletrabalho de cargos técnicos na Universidade do Estado de Santa Catarina (UDESC). O conteúdo da proposta foi construído a partir de uma experiência de pesquisa-ação, com o desenvolvimento de um projeto-piloto de teletrabalho, que contou com a validação final da área de Recursos Humanos da instituição. Informações complementares foram obtidas com a aplicação de um questionário aos ocupantes de cargos técnicos da instituição, que estavam em teletrabalho integral durante a pandemia da Covid-19. Também se buscaram experiências de outras instituições públicas brasileiras. A proposta abordou aspectos importantes para a regulamentação de teletrabalho, como mecanismos de seleção e supervisão, processos de sensibilização e definição de papéis, infraestrutura necessária e objetivos com a implementação. Este artigo busca auxiliar organizações que precisam normatizar o teletrabalho, notadamente em função da atual necessidade de isolamento, para que essa modalidade laboral gere impactos positivos à organização e seus colaboradores.
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Uzaktan çalışma uygulamasında işletmelerin sahip olması gereken kültürel altyapıyı açıklamaya ilişkin bir çalışmadır.
Article
Background: Digital applications have been vital to ensuring business continuity during the COVID-19 pandemic. Indeed, digital transformation is considered key to shaping Europe's future, including the opportunity for hybrid work. Consequently, a central issue is the experience and perception of workers and the effect on their mental well-being. Objective: Building on the assumption that the more 'digitalized' and 'experienced with working from home (WFH),' the more positive peoples' perceptions are, this paper explores how workers in Italy and Denmark perceived WFH during the first COVID-19 lockdown from a psychosocial perspective and what lessons could be drawn for policy and industry. Methods: Ranking top and bottom respectively on the European Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) and different pre-pandemic experiences of WFH, data about WFH perceptions and mental well-being were collected among Danes and Italians via a survey from March to May 2020. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-Tests, and ANOVA. Results: The combination of high rank and pre-experience of WFH did not result in a positive perception of WFH. Mental well-being of Danes were mostly affected and they experienced WFH to be more challenging than the Italians, where the key disadvantages were related to "Home office constraints" and the isolation that followed. Conclusion: When digitalizing Europe and workplaces are likely to offer people the opportunity to have hybrid work, the results highlight how national conditions affect the prospects of the new ways of working including people's mental well-being and where actions are most needed for policy and industry.
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The paper explores the potentialities of telework, a topic with rich literature published since the 1970s, which has become topical again with its forced application related to the COVID-19 pandemic emergency. The paper carries out an analysis of the potential territorial impact—transport networks and geographies of living—of telework in the Italian national context. The analysis highlights the potential relevance of the application of telework in certain metropolitan areas that present urban poles where economic sectors with a high propensity for telework are centralised. This survey relates the large stock of tourist housing in the vicinity of large metropolitan areas to a potential demand arising from the change in housing preferences towards more pleasant contexts made possible by the application of telework. In conclusion, this work aims to contribute to the construction of a platform for the Italian context—lagging behind but with recent legislative measures on smart working—aimed at favouring the definition of research lines able to enhance the potential offered by the application of telework for environmental, social, and territorial sustainability objectives, and it also aims to outline possible territorial scenarios for the main metropolitan areas
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The boost in the use and development of technology, spurred by COVID-19 pandemic and its consequences, has sped up the adoption of new technologies and digital platforms in companies. Specifically, companies have been forced to change their organizational and work structures. In this context, the present study aims to identify the main opportunities and challenges for remote work through the use of digital technologies and platforms based on the analysis of user-generated content (UGC) in Twitter. Using computer-aided text analysis (CATA) and natural language processing (NLP), in this study, we conduct a sentiment analysis developed with Textblob, which works with machine learning. We then apply a mathematical algorithm for topic modeling known as Latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA) model. Based on the results obtained from these data-mining techniques, we identify 11 topics, of which 3 are negative (Virtual Health, Privacy Concerns and Stress), 4 positive (Work-life balance, Less stress, Future and Engagement), and 3 neutral (New Technologies, Sustainability, and Technology Issues). In addition, we also identify and discussed 6 opportunities and 5 challenges in relation to the use and adoption of digital technologies and platforms for teleworking. Finally, theoretical and practical implications of the study are presented for companies that develop strategies based on teleworking and the adoption of new technologies in which stress management is configured as one of the most relevant indicators for further research on remote work. From the applied perspective, executives and policymakers can use the results of the present study to re-evaluate the benefits of remote work for employees.
Article
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The COVID-19 pandemic has created the conditions for the expansion of teleworking (TW) in numerous sectors and organizations, and higher education institutions (HEIs) have had to adapt to this context. This paper aims to identify and analyze five factors (technology, individual involvement and skills, physical inactivity, psychological well-being, and household activities) that influence the effort and results in TW and education (E) in HEIs from the perspective of their key internal stakeholders. The data were gathered by a mix of qualitative and quantitative research methods, such as interviews and surveys. They were analyzed and interpreted through factorial analysis that uses the presentation of the main components as an extraction method, with the Varimax rotation method adopting Kaiser normalization, and processed with SPSS statistical software. This study shows that the effort and results of the key internal stakeholders of HEIs are influenced by the five factors. In this respect, students’ results are negatively influenced by technology and physical inactivity factors. Moreover, the efforts of auxiliary and non-teaching staff are highly positively influenced by the psychological well-being factor and their results are positively influenced by the individual involvement and skills factor and negatively influenced by the household activities factor.
Article
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The potential effectiveness of telecommuting as a demand management strategy depends on the extent to which it is adopted by firms and accepted by employees. To gain insight into the factors likely to influence the adoption process, a survey of employees was conducted in three Texas cities: Austin, Dallas, and Houston. In this paper the survey results, focusing on the attitudes toward telecommuting held by employees who presently do not telecommute as well as on their stated preferences toward different telecommuting options are analyzed. Individual and job-related characteristics likely to influence employee participation in telecommuting programs are identified. The results suggest that successful programs are likely to require some job redesign and means of fair performance evaluation. In addition, success appears to depend on the economic arrangements involved, as most employees seem reluctant to trade income for the flexibility afforded by working from home.
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In previous papers in this series we have presented a conceptual model of the individual decision to telecommute and explored relationships among constraints, preference, and choice. In a related paper we developed a binary model of the preference for home-based telecommuting. Noting that there is a wide gap between preferring to telecommute (88% of the sample) and actually telecommuting (13%), in this paper we develop binary logit models of telecommuting adoption. Two approaches to dealing with constraints are compared: incorporating them directly into the utility function, and using them to define the choice set. Models using the first approach appear to be statistically superior in this analysis, explaining 63 - 64% of the information in the data. Variables significant to choice include those relating to work and travel drives, and awareness, manager support, job suitability, technology, and discipline constraints. The best model was used to analyze the impact of relaxing three key constraints on the 355 people in the sample for whom telecommuting was previously identified to be a preferred impossible alternative (PIA). When unawareness, lack of manager support, and job unsuitability constraints are relaxed, 28% of the people in the PIA category would be expected to adopt telecommuting. The importance of behavioral models to forecast telecommuting adoption accurately is emphasized and is suggested to have wider implications for predicting technology-based activity changes.
Article
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A conceptual model of the choice to telecommute was advanced in an earlier paper. In this paper we present empirical data from a nonrepresentative sample of 628 City of San Diego employees on key variables and relationships in that model. The relationships among possibility, preference, and choice are examined. A key finding is the existence of a large group of people (57% of the sample) for whom telecommuting is a preferred impossible alternative. Dichotomous and continuous constraints are distinguished, and three dichotomous constraints are defined. 'Lack of awareness' is active for 4%, 'job unsuitability' for 44%, and 'manager disapproval' for 51% of the sample. For 68% of the sample, at least one of these constraints is active. Even among those for whom none of the dichotomous constraints is in force, most people do not choose telecommuting because of the presence of active continuous constraints. For only 11% of the entire sample, telecommuting is possible, preferred, and chosen. The potential impacts of self-selection bias are estimated, and sampling bias is qualitatively assessed. This analysis provides a crude but useful estimate of the potential of telecommuting in the population, and more specifically, the relative share of potential telecommuters who are prevented by key dichotomous constraints from choosing that option.
Article
A company's sales workforce must be able to present their products and services using state-of-the-art personal computer technology. To communicate effectively with the company's main office, a salesforce working in the field must also be able to collect and transmit order data from remote locations. The authors studied how a company combined salesforce automation with a telecommuting program to create two new business strategies designed to improve organizational performance. The authors not only describe a successful "telework" program, but they also provide a framework for conducting a cost/benefit analysis. They conclude that the start-up cost of the telework program was high because the IT infrastructure was not current, however, the direct costs and savings offset each other within 3 to 4 years. In addition, they report that ongoing costs declined rapidly, depending on the number of new teleworkers joining the organization. The telework program enhanced accountability because the new software applications allowed managers greater oversight of employee activities, Productivity also increased. After learning how to increase the speed and accuracy of internal operations. the salesforce spent more time with customers and generated more sales. By integrating technology into business processes, the telecommuting program also spurred organizational adjustments and cultural change. Gradually, business managers adjusted policies and procedures to conform to the program's technical and business needs. They shifted from managing by attendance to managing by results, which depended on a reliable IT infrastructure and technical tools for communicating with their employees. The telework program quickened the pace of IT adoption at this company by linking IT improvements to the organization's mission and survival. This mobilized the salesforce, the information systems staff, and middle managers to adapt to and accept the new business environment.
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Reviews the traditional conception of validity as divided into the 3 separate and substitutable types of content, criterion, and construct validities and suggests that this view is fragmented and incomplete, especially in failing to account for the value implications of score meaning as a basis for action and for the social consequences of test use. The essence of unified validity is that the appropriateness, meaningfulness, and usefulness of score-based inferences are inseparable and that the unifying force behind this integration is the trustworthiness of empirically grounded score interpretation. Construct validity conceived comprehensively becomes the whole of assessment validity for both scientific and applied purposes, and assessment validation becomes scientific inquiry into score meaning and the consequences of score use. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Article
Predictions of the effects of office automation on organizations vary widely. This article focuses on changes in individual work patterns, management control, and organizational structure that may occur as a result of implementation of office technology. The most significant change predicted is that organizations will no longer be limited by a central office work environment operating between the traditional office work hours of nine and five. Computer and communications technology will facilitate the relaxing of those physical constraints as necessitated by social and economic pressures. Relevant research to date regarding the effects of the new technology on organizational behavior is reviewed. Management guidelines for preparing for the coming changes are included.
Article
This study examines three models of the individual's preference for home- and center-based telecommuting. Issues concerning the estimation of discrete models when the alternatives are non-exclusive are discussed. Two binary logit models are presented, one on the preference to telecommute from a center versus not telecommuting from a center (adjusted ρ2 = 0.24), and the other on the preference to telecommute from a center over telecommuting from home (adjusted ρ2 = 0.64). A nested logit model is also estimated on the following four alternatives: preferring not to telecommute, preferring either form of telecommuting, preferring to telecommute from home, and preferring to telecommute from a center (adjusted ρ2 = 0.35). The results of the models illustrated the importance of attitudinal measures in measuring an individual's preference to telecommute. Oblique factor scores representing workplace interaction, stress, workaholism, internal control, and commute stress were statistically significant in some or all of the models. Other explanatory variables which were found to be consistently significant were education, job suitability, and age. Most respondents preferred either to telecommute from home or were indifferent between either form of telecommuting, which raises the question as to whether there really is a sizeable market niche to be filled by telecommuting centers, and hence whether they may make a significant contribution to transportation demand reduction.
Article
This study investigates the preference to telecommute from home and from a center. While home-based telecommuting is fairly commonplace, center-based telecommuting is a relatively recent form that involves traveling to work at an office near home and remote from the regular workplace. The research presented here constitutes one of the first efforts to model the preference for center-based telecommuting. Survey data were collected from center-based telecommuters, home-based telecommuters, and non-telecommuters, as part of a telecommuting center demonstration project in California. Using attitudinal factor scores, as well as travel and sociodemographic variables, the preferences to work from the telecommuting center and to work from home were modeled. Logit models for center preference, home preference, and center versus home preference were estimated. The most frequently significant characteristics were personal benefits at the center, work ethic at home, and age of the respondent. Speculation on the future of the center-based form of telecommuting suggests slow growth for the near term, but potential long-term viability in connection with alternative uses of telecenter facilities and with the trend toward non-territorial office arrangements.
Article
This study explores the individual's choice of telecommuting frequency as a function of demographic, travel, work, and attitudinal factors. To do this, multinomial logit models are estimated using data collected in a recent survey of employees from three public agencies in California. Separate models are estimated, one for data collected from the Franchise Tax Board in Sacramento, one for data from the Public Utilities Commission in San Francisco, and one for data collected from employees of the City of San Diego. The results show that the most important variables in explaining the choice of frequency of telecommuting from home were the presence of small children in the household (irrespective of respondent gender), the number of people in the household, gender of respondent, number of vehicles in the household, whether respondent recently changed departure time for personal reasons, degree of control over scheduling of different job tasks, supervisory status of respondent, the ability to borrow a computer from work if necessary, and a family orientation. The empirical analysis also shows that model results are not transferable among the three organizations studied.
Article
This paper reports seven case histories involving the use of telecommuting in the environment of research software development over a 15-year period. The cases are presented and analyzed, and their normative implications are explored. These cases indicate three trends. First, remoteexpertise will become increasingly valuable and easy to obtain. Second, face-to-face contact will remain important and should be anticipated. It is necessary for ill-defined tasks, for group identity, and for general demonstration of judgement, ability, and competence. Third, telecommuting will become an ordinary, though augmentative, component of work involving highly motivated, independent knowledge workers with well-developed social skills. Such work will be loosely coupled and less hierarchical.
Article
Sumario: The author illustrates that telework is undeniably the corporeate wave of the future on a global level. Telework, or telecommuting, means basically moving the work to the worker instead of the other way around.
Article
In this paper a conceptual model of the individual decision to telecommute is presented. Key elements of that decision, including constraints, facilitators, and drives, are defined and the relationships among them described. The major types of constraints (if negative) or facilitators (if positive) include external factors related to awareness, the organization, and the job, and internal psychosocial factors. The major types of drives are work, family, leisure, ideology, and travel. It is argued that the absence of constraints is a necessary but not sufficient condition for telecommuting to be adopted by an individual. The presence of one or more drives, assumed to be associated with some dissatisfaction, is necessary to activate the search for a solution to that dissatisfaction. The choice set contains those alternative solutions perceived to be feasible by the individual. It may or may not contain telecommuting (depending on whether all constraints are nonbinding or not), and probably contains other alternatives having nothing to do with telecommuting. Each alternative is evaluated in terms of how effectively it satisfies the drive, and the individual's attitudes toward it. The alternative (or bundle of alternatives) which maximizes individual utility becomes the preferred behavioral pattern. However, short-term constraints may prevent the preferred behavior from being chosen. The process is a dynamic one, in which previous choices affect attitudes and constraints and alter drives. Work directed by the authors is under way to operationalize the conceptual model.
Article
This paper begins to operationalize a previously published conceptual model of the individual decision to telecommute. Using survey data from 628 employees of the City of San Diego, hypothesized drives to telecommute and constraints on/facilitators of telecommuting are measured. A binary logit model of the preference to telecommute from home is estimated, having a [varrho]2 of 0.68. The explanatory variables include attitudinal and factual information. Factor analysis is performed on two groups of attitudinal questions, identifying a total of 17 (oblique) factors which can be classified as drives and constraints. Additional measures are created from other data in the survey, usually objective sociodemographic characteristics. Variables representing at least four of the five hypothesized drives (work, family, independence/leisure, and travel) are significant in the final model. Variables from four of the ten groups of constraints (Job suitability, social/professional and household interaction concerns, and a perceived benefit of commuting) are significant, primarily representing internal rather than external constraints. The results clearly demonstrate the importance of attitudinal measures over sociodemographic ones, as the same demographic characteristics (such as the presence of children, commute time) will have different effects on preference for different people.
Article
This paper attempts to extend information-processing theory so that it can be meaningfully applied to MNCs. A specific multidimensional framework is developed that can be used to measure the information-processing capacities of macro-level features of MNC organizational design. An applied example, transnationalism, is used to illustrate how to apply the framework and demonstrate that it can contribute meaningful new insight to this complex organizational problem.© 1991 JIBS. Journal of International Business Studies (1991) 22, 341–368
Telecommuting: A Manager's Guide to Flexible Work Arrangements
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