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Telecommuting (2003)
Author: Ellen E. Kossek, Michigan State University- School of Labor & Industrial Relations Date: 5/12/03 Basic Concepts & Definitions Telecommuting, sometimes called "telework," is a subset of the group of alternative work options where:
Telecommuting is usually considered to be work done from the employee's home for at least part of the workweek, where the work is at least partially supported by telecommunications technology. Telecommuting usually does not refer to work that is conducted either very occasionally (e.g., person who works at home maybe once a month) or work done "on the road," such as training or sales. It is also important to make a distinction between telecommuting and flexible scheduling. Although many telecommuters work according to flexible schedules, some telecommuters are expected to work according to a fixed schedule (e.g., they need to be available 9 to 5, etc.). There are between 13 and 19 million teleworkers in the U.S. today. Some of these employees telecommute on a full time basis, but most work at home for one or two days a week (U.S. Department of Labor, 2000). The typical telecommuter is a middle-aged, college-educated, white male who owns a home computer and earns at least $40,000 per year. Telecommuting works best for jobs that demand a high degree of privacy and concentration, are predictable, and information-based (U.S. Department of Labor, 2000). Importance of Topic to Work-Family Studies Telecommuting has implications for work-family studies since the design and structure of work itself can be one of the root causes of work/life conflicts. There are two competing schools of thought on the effects of teleworking on work-family conflict. Some scholars believe that telecommuting may reduce work-family conflict, by reducing commuting times, or allowing one to be closer to one's children or elders should problems occur. Others believe it may increase work-family conflict since employees may work longer hours as they are working when office employees in similar jobs might be commuting, or eating lunch or socializing. State of the Body of KnowledgeScholars and practitioners are still grappling with documenting the incidence of telework, since there is no single operational definition used by employees and organizations. For example, some employers don't consider working from home one day a week to be teleworking. Most of the studies conducted to date have examined the relationships between productivity proxy measures and either: 1) characteristics of the telecommuting employee (e.g., tenure, personality traits, etc.), or 2) work tasks completed by the telecommuter (e.g. data entry, knowledge creation etc.). The telework research has its roots in studies conducted about home work. Christensen (1988) found that homework may have differential impacts on men and women due to the family and household responsibilities that they assume. A recent study by Sullivan & Lewis contrasted telework that is a form of exploitation with telework that is a solution for managing work and family. The authors conclude that although telework may be viewed as family-friendly if it allows women to combine their work and family roles, but it may not be gender-equitable in terms of reducing work-family conflict. There continues to be a lack of quality empirical evidence that documents the outcomes of telecommuting, either for employees (at work or at home -- however those boundaries get defined), the workplace organization (including coworkers and supervisors), or the employees' families. Finally, there have been no published studies that examine how variations in the telecommuting situation, itself, might be related to different outcomes. This summary should be updated in a few years when more empirical work is done, as there is little quality, published research in top refereed journals on telecommuting. Implications for Practice & Research Telework can offer benefits to employees and employers. Telecommuters can save time by eliminating or reducing commutes. Employees may report that the stress associated with long or difficult commutes is reduced. Sometimes, employees may either reduce their work time or work more efficiently because they minimize being interrupted by co-workers (Mirchandani, 1998). If the employee is able to telecommute according to a flexible schedule, they may be able to more effectively integrate work and nonwork tasks, such as taking care of sick children or fulfilling personal/family responsibilities that might need to be managed during the traditional work day (Hill, 1998). Some employers have used telecommuting as a strategy that enables employees to postpone or eliminate the need for relocation or resigning to avoid moving. The extent to which employees accrue these benefits depends on the telecommuters being able to maintain a reasonable workload and being able to clarify the boundaries between work and not-work (both for the employee as well as for the employees' family). There is evidence in the literature that employees should not try to simultaneously perform child care and work responsibilities (Riley & McCloskey, 1997). Employers can benefit from telecommuting by saving money on expensive office space, increasing employee productivity, and improving worker morale, which might increase firms' ability to retain the best employees (U. S. Department of Labor, 2000). Some scholars believe that teleworkers generally work longer hours than their non-teleworking counterparts due to a "gratitude effect", shorter commuting times, less time socializing, and easy accessibility to work. Telecommuting is sometimes used by organizations in major metropolitan areas as a strategy for meeting Environmental Protection Agency plans to reduce air pollution. It is often noted in the telework literature that supervisors' expectations and norms of supervision (such as "face time" and "line of sight") have an impact on the availability and the outcomes of telework arrangements. Practitioners have raised questions, such as, "How can a manager effectively supervise workers who are not present in the workplace? How can a manager organize the work of teams when an employee is a teleworker?" Although the practice literature offers "advice" about these issues, there is little empirical work that helps to guide their decisions. Early evidence suggests that the benefits of telecommuting may be overstated in the popular literature, as some workers may not be able to effectively manage their times well at home. Others may overwork, as they feel that they can never get away from their jobs. These employees may have problems maintaining boundaries between work and home. Other potential problems include: increased isolation, depression, lack of space for a home office, and difficulties in accessing adequate telecommunications technology to support working at home, especially in rural or small town locations where infrastructure may not be state-of-the-art. References Christensen, K. (1988). Women and home-based work: The unspoken contract. New York, NY: Henry Holt and Company. Hill, E. J., Miller, B. C., Weiner, S. P.& Colihan, J. 1998. Influences of the virtual office on aspects of work and work/life balance. Personnel Psychology, 51: 667-683. Mirchandani, K. 1998. Protecting the boundary: Teleworker insights on the expansive concept of work. Gender & Society, 12: 168-187. Riley, F. & McCLoskey, D. 1997. Telecommuting as a response to help people balance work and family. In Parasuraman, S. & Greenhaus,J. Integrating work and family: Challenges for a changing world. Westport, CT: Prager. Sullivan, C., & Lewis, S. (2001). Home-based telework, gender, and the synchronization of work and family: Perspectives of teleworkers and their co-residents. Gender, Work and Organizations, 8(2). 123-145. U. S. Department of Labor, 2000. Telework and the New Workplace of the 21st Century. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office. http://www.gov.dol/asp/public/telework/ Other Recommended Readings on this Topic: Belanger, F. (1999). Workers' propensity to telecommute: An empirical study. Information & Management, 35, 139-153. Chapman, A., Sheeny, N., Heywood, S., Dooley, B., & Collins, C. (1995). The organizational implications of teleworking. International Review of Industry and Organizational Behavior, 10, 229-248. Crandall, F., & Wallace, M. Jr. (1998). Work & rewards in the virtual workplace. New York, NY: Amacom. www.amanet.org Daniels, K., Lamond, D., & Standen, P. (2000). Managing telework: Perspectives from human resource management and work psychology. London: Business Press, Thompson Learning. Feldman, D. C., & Gainey, T. W. (1997). Patterns of telecommuting and their consequences: Framing the research agenda. Human Resource Management Review, 7, 369-388. Gordon, G. (2001). Turn it off. How to unplug from the anytime-anywhere office without disconnecting your career. New York, NY: Three Rivers Press. Heck, R., Winter, M., & Stafford, K. (1992). Managing work and family in home-based employment. Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 13(2), 187-212. Hill, E. J., Miller, B. C., Weiner, S. P., & Colihan, J. (1998). Influences of the virtual office on aspects of work and work/life balance. Personnel Psychology, 51, 667-683. Igbaria, M., & Tan, M. (1998). The virtual workplace. Hershey, PA: Idea Group Publishing. www.idea-group.com Mirchandani, K. (1998). Protecting the boundary: Teleworker insights on the expansive concept of work. Gender & Society, 12, 168-187. Raghuram, S., Garud, R., Wiesenfeld, & Gupta, V. (2001). Factors contributing to virtual work adjustment. Journal of Management, 27, 383-405 Riley, F., & McCloseky, D. (1997). Telecommuting as a response to help people balance work and family. In S. Parasuraman, & J. Greenhaus (Eds.). Integrating work and family: Challenges for a changing world. Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Group. Sullivan, C., & Lewis, S. (2001). Home-based telework, gender, and the synchronization of work and family: Perspectives of teleworkers and their co-residents. Gender, Work and Organizations, 8(2), 123-145. U. S. Department of Labor. (2000). Telework and the new workplace of the 21st century. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office. http://www.gov.dol/asp/public/telework/ Zelinsky, M. (1998). New workplaces for new workstyles. New York, NY: McGraw Hill. Other resources www.gilgordon.com - A website established by the telecommunity consultant and author, Gil Gordon. Locations in the Matrix of Information Domains of the Work-Family Area of Studies The Editorial Board of the Teaching Resources section of the Sloan Work and Family Research Network has prepared a Matrix as a way to locate important work-family topics in the broad area of work-family studies. (More about the Matrix…) To download the matrix, click here:
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