Essay

Telework – new forms of work consideration

“Work is something you do, not something you travel to” is one of the most frequently repeated mottos spread out from offices to offices nowadays. That is to say about how much people are interested in working efficiency and flexibility other than working locations. This also reflects the rapidly changing trend of work including increased global competition, greater use of information and communication technology and changes in workforce demographics. These changes have led to the transformations in structure of organisation, the way we work and the jobs we do. One of the transformation features telework. This essay aims to analyse this increasing trend in the workplaces across the globe to see its good and bad. It is found out that telework offers more advantages than disadvantages to employees, employers and the society as a whole. To meet this end, it will first consider the definition of telework, and then examine both benefits and shortcomings of telework to 3 different levels: individuals, organisations and nation. Finally, the essay will conclude by discussing necessary conditions for the successful telework implementation for individual, companies and businesses

What is telework?
The concept of teleworking was born during the first international oil crisis in the early 1970s. The crisis laid a heavy emphasis on the energy wastage in public and private transport system. In 1974, Jack Nilles and his colleagues published their calculations on the savings to national economy; in which reduced commuting was introduced as a solution (Pyoria, 2011). Accordingly, telecommuting is used as a way of saving on energy used in work travelling by using electronic communication instead of physical transport. The term ‘telecommuting’ later became ‘telework’ in Europe. Broadly, telework is working regularly from place other than the office or performing one’s work duties at a remote location. It refers to the utility of information and communication to stay connected with colleagues and work systems. That is the reason why telework is also understood as virtual work. However, the telework researchers also face definitional issues since telework is a very varied and swiftly changing phenomenon with different names at different times. Over the past 40 years, the construction of definitions of telework has been an area of great debate. Even though telecommuting is synonymous with telework, the development of this work arrangement has made two terms significantly different. Telecommuting refers to work done at a place that reduces commuting time. Yet, telework is broader, which comprises more elements during its development other than work location and transport. Sullivan 2003 reveals 04 aspects of telework: work location, usage of Information Communication Technology (ICTS), time distribution, and the diversity of employment relationships. Four above dimensions differentiate telework from telecommuting and home working (working from home), which are parts of telework. As he notes, there is a growing consensus in the academic circle that telework is decentralised work that depends on ICTs, and that ICTs use is a crucial factor in differentiating between home -work and telework. Within the framework of my research, telework will be used interchangeably telecommuting and sometimes virtual work. Two sides of telework
Evidence from a variety of researches over the past 40 years and experiences from different countries around the world have proven that telework can offer a wide range of advantages. Telework has undoubtedly become an increasingly popular trend in the working world. Teleworkers increased to 1 billion by 2011, representing 30 per cent of international workforce. However, telework also become a wrong choice of work arrangement individually, organisationally and nationally when it is applied without careful consideration. As such, this widespread practical concern has attracted a lot of research attention to consider the its both sides and determine which is the best way to implement it At the individual level, the first and foremost advantage of telework is improved performance and better productivity. Working away from traditional offices alters employees’ motivation and attitudes. Mahler 2012 reported notes that 86% of the workers who telework as a routine at least one day a week says their telework experience has a positive impact on their job satisfaction. In another research, it is shown that when their employees are happy with teleworking arrangement, they are most likely to have a high level of commitments (Caillier 2012). One thing to note here is that there is a marked difference in levels of job satisfaction among different types of teleworkers. Morganson et al 2009 conducted a survey with 578 employees working at one of four locations: main office, client location, satellite office and home. The results revealed that satellite office and home-based workers had similar level of job satisfaction, which is higher than client -based workers. Another indication of better performance and productivity is the improvement of work habits under telework. Absenteeism is reduced and sick leave decrease by 69 % saving 14 hours of work time per employee (Mahler 2012). Generally speaking, telework have five kinds of effects on individuals, which is directly and indirectly linked to how they perform at work. First, telework does not change conceptions of oneself as an employee. Second, telework create a favourable condition for employees to sharpen their time management skills, which is critical for effective teleworking. Telework also means reduced distractions at work place and a remarkable change of communication and use of time and space. It enables managers and professionals to think independently and achieve better work targets due to their ability to work from home. Furthermore, home is proven to be better than the office environment. From the relationship and support aspect, that could help employees more motivated toward achieving work goals, as there is no change in demands concerning job tasks (Baruch 2000).
Telework is regarded as an instrument to satisfy employees’ need for autonomy over work location and time. Gajendran and Harrison 2007 discovered that telework is positively associated with autonomy. The two psychologists from Pennsylvania State University conducted a meta-analysis of 46 studies involving 12 883 employees and found out that telecommuting has beneficial effects on perceived autonomy. Teleworkers have the opportunity to have more sovereignty of their time and determined how and when work is performed. Flexibility is also another benefit employees can gain as a teleworker. Flexible working time and place give a rise to work efficiency as individual feels a sense of freedom.
The third advantage is work- life balance. As a kind of flexible work arrangement, telework give employees more time with family; as such it reduce work life conflict (Russell et al, 2009). Organisations offering telework will realise that their employees experience reduction in family work conflicts (Troup and Rose, 2012). Therefore, telework can be regarded as an effective transitional solution for specific conditions such as parents during periods of childcare and a person which broken leg or unable to commute for a short time (Kondrath 2000). It should also be remembered that levels of work life balance support vary depending on specific type of teleworkers. Home based workers are greater in this sense than satellite and client based workers (Morganson et al, 2009). Besides these main benefits, the other by products gain from telework is reduced work pressure, role conflict and organisational loyalty (Sardeshmukh and Golden, 2012).
The downside of telework for individuals is social isolation. Virtual working undermines employees’ opportunity for affiliation because it reduces task independence, which limits face-to-face interaction with co-workers, supervisors and clients (Morganson et al, 2009). In the similar research, Konradt et.al 2000 claims that there is a decrease in contacts, characteristics and social isolation owing to telework. Yet a new study from Martin and MacDonnell 2012 reveal that only high intensity telecommuting harms relationship with co-workers. Hence, managers could intervene to mitigate the issue by setting up schedule for face-to-face meeting, working lunches and informal social activities with work groups of telecommuters. In short, better performance, autonomy and work life balance- major benefits of telework- lead to work efficiency and productivity and its only uptake is social isolation which can be compensated by private contacts and social activities among teleworkers.
Not only beneficial for employees, telework is confirmed to bring about a great number of advantages to organisations adopting this type of work arrangement. Better performance in quality and quantity of work is the positive consequence of teleworking for employers, which at least show in a better life quality of their own subordinates (Mcnall et.al 2009, Natti and Haikio 2012, Shockley and Allen 2007). In the first meta-analysis of telework at organisational level, Martin and MacDonnell, 2012 also indicates a positive relationship between telework and organisational outcomes. Telework gives rise to productivity boost, retention security and stronger organisational commitment as well as improved performance within the organisation. 60 % of supervisors said that telework improved their ability to retain high performing employees. In addition, organisations under teleworking can make most use of wider labour market. For instance, private sector firms have discovered that telework expands the pool of potential employees, which includes those living in rural areas and the disabled. Another prominent benefit for organisations under teleworking is cost saving in premise, labour and commuting costs. Despite being by products of teleworking, cost saving still serves as a main motivator for companies to introduce this kind of work arrangement. Teleworking can make a contribution to the image of companies or businesses as a flexible workplace. In an informal survey of government employee, Microsoft discovered that 50 % of those asked said they would seriously take a career move into account if another good opportunity came that include a more robust telework policy.
Aside from these good points, telework has its own drawbacks for organisations. It creates new complexities in workplace for employers and makes communication and coordination more difficult given the sophisticated information and communication technology. The major obstacle in adopting telework for companies lies in the attitudes of managers. Losing control over their subordinates is the main cause for the executives’ rejection over telework programs. Not just a new way of task distribution, telework poses a new organisational form with different ways of defining and managing tasks (Mahler, 2012). Nonetheless, executive personnel need to change their management style on result orientation so as to make telework work well within their organisations.
At national level, teleworking is perceived to reduce road congestion, accidents and air pollution and as such relieve pressure on transportation infrastructure of a country. The research in Brussels Capital Region, Belgium tried to estimate the effects of teleworking on the external transport costs. It found out that external costs would be saved when more of car trips are replaced by working at home or in the satellite office (Lier et.al 2012). In another analysis by Horvath, a professor from the University of California, it is claimed that the principle of life-cycle assessment has to be applied to telework so as to understand the environmental impacts of telework comprehensively. He claims that telework can bring environmental benefits for a state; however it relies on modes of implementation; and he also notes the lack of empirical studies. Given that more number of researches needs to be done to prove this across the cities, and nations in the world, the analysis in Belgium shows that telework could serve as a tool to enhance sustainability and resilience by reducing environmental and socio economical impacts of mobility on our society. Another benefit at nationwide level is that telework enables employability for a group of people namely disable and single parents and women to participate in the labour market. As a result, a nation with effective telework policy will enjoy fuller employment and less discrimination. The downside of telework at this level is isolation and exclusion from the society. In Baruch’s word, it may create an autistic society. Until now, there is little empirical research confirming this negative consequence of telework nationwide. And whether our society will become autistics is still a myth. In other words, the benefits of telework are far more than the likely shortcomings it poses on the society.
Principles for success
These expected benefits of telework in comparison with its drawbacks have dramatically raised the number of teleworkers in the world. In the United States, employees engaged in teleworking grew by 5.75 % of the federal workforce between 2008 and 2009 (Mahler, 2012). This trend is still spreading all around the world. However a success of teleworking programmes requires a number of disciplines at individual, organisational and national level, which reinforce the advantages of telework and mitigate its perceived drawbacks.
Looking at the individual level, the most important attribute is self-discipline, which examine whether a person is fit to teleworking or not. Inner motivation is also another critical requirement especially for personnel taking high –level and sophisticated job. For homeworkers, the availability of separate space for work purposes is said to be crucial (Bailey and Kurland, 2002).
At organisational and national level, it should be understood that teleworking is just fit to a certain type of jobs with suitable characteristics. For instance, it is completely impractical for manufacturing jobs, personal services and sales occupations, which necessarily require physical presence. So technology available for achieving tasks without presence in the workplace is a prerequisite for adopting telework. In order to make telework grow, it is a must to enhance a culture of trust from both managers and teleworkers (Workman et.al, 2003). This is a win-win situation. Employees will get motivated for working as their boss have a trust in them. Similarly, employers will realize that they will feel comfortable with the belief that their subordinates are actually working well even when not under scrutiny. Overall, telework has the prospects of success at the start when all people know what the expectation is and what they should prepare to cope with any risk or changes in the communicative behaviour, as a consequence of new type of work culture.

Conclusion
Telework has nowadays become a widespread practical feature in every organisation, private or public, throughout the world because disadvantages of telework are outnumbered by its massive benefits. At individual level, the positive consequences are mainly improved performance, autonomy and work life balance. Higher productivity, wider labour market, costs saving and better corporate image are considered to be the main gains for organisation with effective telework design. At national level, it is the reduction in air pollution, traffic congestions and accidents that encourage governments to provide aid in regards to telework for companies and businesses. The only perceived drawback of telework could probably be social isolation for individuals, which lead to autistics at national level. For organisations, telework raise concerns about changes in communicative behaviour, task allocation and management style. Nevertheless, these potential risks could be mitigated by careful design of telework programs, which is relevant to job characteristics of companies as well as personalities of individuals. All things considered, telework appear to be a main driving force for a new work culture in our modern society.

References
Bailey, D.E., and Kurland, N.B, 2002, ‘A review of telework research: findings, new directions, and lessons for the study of modern work’, Journal of Organisational behavior, 23, 383-400.

Baruch, Y., 2000, ‘teleworking: benefits and pitfalls as perceived by professionals and managers’, New technology, Work and Employment, 15:1, 34-49.

Caillier, J.G., 2011, ‘Are teleworkers less likely to report leave intentions in the United States federal government than non-teleworkers are? American Review of Public Administration, 23:1, 23-48.

Horvath, A., 2010, ‘Environmental Analysis of telework: What we know, and what we do not know and why’, International Symposium on sustainable system and technology, 1-3.

Konradt, U., Schmook, R., and Maclecke, M., 2000, ‘Impacts of telework on individuals, organisations and families- a critical review’, International Review of Industrial and Organisational Psychology, 15, 65-99.

Lier, T.V, Witte, A.D, and Macharis, C., 2012, ‘The impact of telework on transport externatlities: the case of Brussels Capital region’, Social and Behavioral Sciences, 54, 240-250.

Morganson V.J, Major D.A, Oborn. K.L, 2009 ‘Comparing telework locations and traditional work arrangements’, Journal of Managerial Psychology, 25:6, 578-595

Martin, B. H., and MacDonnell R., 2012, ‘Is telework effective for organisations?’, Management Research Review, 35:7, 602-616.

Mahler, J., 2012, ‘The telework divide: managerial and Personnel Challenges of telework’, Review of Public Personnel Administration, 32:4, 407-418.

McNall, L.A., Masuda, A.D, and Nicklin , J.M, 2009, ‘Flexible Work Arrangement, Job Satisfaction, and Turnover Intentions: The mediating role of Work-to Family Enrichment, The Journal of Psychology: Interdisciplinary and Applied: 144: 1, 61-68.

Natti, J., and Haikio, L., 2012, ‘Flexible work and work-family interaction’, Community, work and Family, 15:4, 381-382.

Pyoria, P., 2011, ‘Managing telework: risks, fears and rules’, Management Research Review, 34:4, 386-399.

Russell, H., O’Connell. P.J., and McGinnity. F., 2009, ‘The impact of flexible working arrangements of work-life conflict and work pressure in Ireland’, Gender work and Organisation, 16:1, 74-97.

Sullivan, C., 2003, ‘What’s in a name? Definitions and conceptualisations of teleworking and homeworking’, New Technology, Work and Employment, 158-165.

Shockley, K.M, and Allen T.D, 2007, “When flexibility helps: another look at the availability of flexible work arrangements and work-family conflict’, Journal of Vocational behaviour, 71, 497-493.

Sardeshmukh, S.R., Sharma, D., and Golden, T.D, 2012, ‘Impact of telework on exhaustion and job engagement: a job demands and job resources model’, New Technology, work and Employment, 27:3, 193-207.
Troup, C., and Rose, J., 2012, ‘Working from home: do formal or informal telework arrangements provide better work-family outcomes?’, Community, work and Family, 15:4, 471-486.

Workman, M., Kahnweiler, W., and Bommer, W., 2003, ‘The effects of cognitive style and media richness on commitment to telework and virtual teams, Journal of Vocational Behavior, 63, 199-219.

References: Bailey, D.E., and Kurland, N.B, 2002, ‘A review of telework research: findings, new directions, and lessons for the study of modern work’, Journal of Organisational behavior, 23, 383-400. Baruch, Y., 2000, ‘teleworking: benefits and pitfalls as perceived by professionals and managers’, New technology, Work and Employment, 15:1, 34-49. Caillier, J.G., 2011, ‘Are teleworkers less likely to report leave intentions in the United States federal government than non-teleworkers are? American Review of Public Administration, 23:1, 23-48. Horvath, A., 2010, ‘Environmental Analysis of telework: What we know, and what we do not know and why’, International Symposium on sustainable system and technology, 1-3. Konradt, U., Schmook, R., and Maclecke, M., 2000, ‘Impacts of telework on individuals, organisations and families- a critical review’, International Review of Industrial and Organisational Psychology, 15, 65-99. Lier, T.V, Witte, A.D, and Macharis, C., 2012, ‘The impact of telework on transport externatlities: the case of Brussels Capital region’, Social and Behavioral Sciences, 54, 240-250. Morganson V.J, Major D.A, Oborn. K.L, 2009 ‘Comparing telework locations and traditional work arrangements’, Journal of Managerial Psychology, 25:6, 578-595 Martin, B Mahler, J., 2012, ‘The telework divide: managerial and Personnel Challenges of telework’, Review of Public Personnel Administration, 32:4, 407-418. McNall, L.A., Masuda, A.D, and Nicklin , J.M, 2009, ‘Flexible Work Arrangement, Job Satisfaction, and Turnover Intentions: The mediating role of Work-to Family Enrichment, The Journal of Psychology: Interdisciplinary and Applied: 144: 1, 61-68. Natti, J., and Haikio, L., 2012, ‘Flexible work and work-family interaction’, Community, work and Family, 15:4, 381-382. Pyoria, P., 2011, ‘Managing telework: risks, fears and rules’, Management Research Review, 34:4, 386-399. Russell, H., O’Connell. P.J., and McGinnity. F., 2009, ‘The impact of flexible working arrangements of work-life conflict and work pressure in Ireland’, Gender work and Organisation, 16:1, 74-97. Sullivan, C., 2003, ‘What’s in a name? Definitions and conceptualisations of teleworking and homeworking’, New Technology, Work and Employment, 158-165. Shockley, K.M, and Allen T.D, 2007, “When flexibility helps: another look at the availability of flexible work arrangements and work-family conflict’, Journal of Vocational behaviour, 71, 497-493. Sardeshmukh, S.R., Sharma, D., and Golden, T.D, 2012, ‘Impact of telework on exhaustion and job engagement: a job demands and job resources model’, New Technology, work and Employment, 27:3, 193-207. Troup, C., and Rose, J., 2012, ‘Working from home: do formal or informal telework arrangements provide better work-family outcomes?’, Community, work and Family, 15:4, 471-486. Workman, M., Kahnweiler, W., and Bommer, W., 2003, ‘The effects of cognitive style and media richness on commitment to telework and virtual teams, Journal of Vocational Behavior, 63, 199-219.