Authors: Josephine Celani and Kajal Patel
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Telework may seem like the new innovation of the information age, however the converse is true. Telework has been practiced for several decades in occupations such as sales, consulting, accounting and journalism. Telework is based on the belief that mature, responsible adults do not need constant close supervision, in order to properly perform their work. With advanced technology and less time for family bonding, telework has emerged as a viable alternative for employees today. A significant number of employers in both the private and public sector throughout North America have instituted telework policies within their traditional office environments. There are a number of factors promoting the advancement of telework as a feasible alternative work arrangement. With the advancement of information technology, telework is a concept, which has now flourished. For some, telework covers most activities using information and communications technologies. For the purpose of this paper, telework consists of, "office activities done at home with a status of employee or self-employed workers" (Valenduc, 1998).
If workers want the social climate of a physical workplace and the concept of telework has increased, is it a viable alternative to the traditional workplace? Perhaps the physical advantages of telework outweigh the need for a social climate of a physical workplace. On the other hand, perhaps telework provides more societal advantages for women and the disabled then we realize. Five possible answers will be examined which present the social and physical advantages and disadvantages of telework and whether it is a viable alternative.
Many women choose to telework as it allows them to stay at home with their children. It is a way for a mother to intensify the mother-child bond, something that becomes increasingly difficult when one is working outside the home and the children are left with babysitters. Perhaps, the most important reason as to why telework is becoming increasingly popular with women is that it allows a woman to have both children and a career. Generally, women feel as though, a choice must be made between having a child and building a career in order to avoid jeopardizing one aspect for the other. However, telework presents an ideal way for a mother to raise a child while still maintaining a focus on her career. Therefore, from a feminine standpoint, it is a very welcoming alternate to the traditional office environment.
In addition to women, telework seems to offer many benefits to single-parent families. It is considered, "the first social transformation in centuries that puts working mothers and fathers back into the home rather than pushing them out for longer and longer periods of time" (Nie, 1999). Having a parent at home, in addition to increasing quality family time, can lead to lower levels of tension and stress. Generally, single-parent families have more worries from a financial standpoint due to the fact that there is only one incoming income. Through telework, daycare can be avoided and therefore relieve the parent of a huge financial burden.
Telework is also a viable option for persons with disabilities. It can enable access to work, training and social interaction for individuals with specific problems, for example those with disabilities that make it difficult to travel to work or do a normal nine-to-five working day. Therefore, telework allows individuals with disabilities to hold a career and allows them to be actively involved in the work force.
For these workers, the social climate of a physical workplace is not of primary concern. Therefore, telework presents itself as a suitable work alternative for women, the disabled and single parent households.
Many researchers have examined telework as a possible solution to some of the problems that accompany the commuting culture, for example those affecting the environment. Now, more than ever, protecting the environment is of top concern to many people within society. Within the past five years, people have changed their lifestyles and contributed to preserving our environment through programs such as recycling.
Telecommuting, rather than using more conventional methods, possesses a great potential to save energy. Three major areas where energy can be conserved are: within vehicle-related materials and resources, highway-related materials and resources, and office-related materials and resources (http://www.orgdnet.org). This is particularly advantageous to the government because it allows cost saving measures to be taken. A large amount of energy is required to produce and power transportation equipment such as buses, trains and automobiles. With telework, there is a potential of using less transportation equipment. In essence, this results in less energy being used for the production, maintenance and repair of equipment, such as automobiles and buses (http://www.orgdnet.org).
Furthermore, one of the most essential resources needed to operate these vehicles is fuel. With the promotion of telework, less energy and fuel will be required. This decreased use of transportation fuels results in energy conservation and a reduction in air pollution. The building and repair of highways also requires a large amount of energy consumption. This is especially true in the operation of highway construction and repair equipment, and in the manufacturing and transportation of required materials. An increase in the number of people telecommuting can lead to a decrease in the need for expanded highways and associated road maintenance. As well, highways and parking lots are continuing to consume large amounts of space (http://www.orgdnet.org). With an increased use of telework, existing highways could be reduced in size and parking lots could be converted to parks. Therefore, telework shows great promise as being a major contributor to a more environmentally friendly society, which assists the governments' effort to improve the environment.
Energy conservation not only applies to the use of vehicles and highway construction but also within the organization (i.e. the employer) itself. When one considers the total amount of energy needed to run a central office location, telework is a more energy efficient solution (http://www.orgdnet.org). An office building has heating, cooling and lighting needs. Energy is required to produce and transport the materials that are required to build and maintain a building. Having one less employee within the office also reduces office space and expenses. By working from home, one is already making use of existing space and facilities, and requires only modest demands on energy for heating, cooling and lighting needs. Thereby, telework has a positive relationship with respect to energy conservation.
One of the most significant advantages for the employee working from home is the reduction of commuting time. Telework can promote safety and reduce highway use. News reports constantly inform society of potentially avoidable highway accidents. Commuting to work often results in a frustrated individual who is constantly 'stuck' in traffic jams. Road rage is a major problem that is taking over our highways. There is the realization that commuting has reached a dangerous level where people are taking their frustrations out on other commuters. For many people, the commute to work has been made so many times that people often are not alert or even worse, falling asleep at the wheel. This therefore, increases the chances of a serious accident.
In summary, telework has been found to have many beneficial effects with respect to issues concerning the physical environment for the government, employer and employee. The ideas that teleworking leads to a cleaner environment and the conservation of energy are excellent reasons as to why teleworking should be promoted as a viable alternative to the traditional office environment.
If workers want the social climate of a physical workplace, telework would not be the ideal work environment as isolation is considered to be the biggest drawback and deterring factor with respect to telework (http://audit.kpmg.ca). Many home workers feel as though they are, "working in a vacuum" (Allen, 1999). Many have trouble keeping work hours under control and difficulties keeping family life and "its inherent intrusions at bay" (Allen, 1999). In other words, the flexibility and freedom that come with a home office have their down sides too. Teleworkers often struggle with feelings of loneliness and a perception that they are not as legitimate as their office-worker counterparts. The study by KPMG found that the biggest disadvantage to teleworking is the lack of face-to-face contact (http://audit.kpmg.ca). Consequently, these negative feelings have drawn many back to the traditional office setting.
Other detrimental effects have been suggested for those working at home. Currently, the workplace represents one of the major centers for friendship in contemporary society (Nie, 1999). This is an area that has grown steadily where many other facets of our lives have declined due to the "anonymity of big cities and bedroom suburbs" (Nie, 1999). Therefore, if the workplace is one of the few remaining sources of personal contact and community in a society that is becoming increasingly isolated, what does this mean for those who are isolated? In this sense, teleworking seems to magnify this problem by being a hiding place for the depressed or alone. It has also been mentioned that the greater the isolation of work from other spheres of one's social world, the more likely it is that business ethics will suffer. It is thought that a lack of face-to-face contact provides "a layer of protective anonymity" (Nie, 1999) which further separates people and leads individuals to believe that they can get way with immoral behaviors.
Therefore, this leads us to conclude that telework is not appropriate for everyone. Rather, it is suitable for one who is self-motivated, not easily distracted and not in need of the social climate of a physical workplace.
It has been suggested that telework will open up the doors to those who are less advantaged and stimulate equality in the workplace. However, it is evident that this is an overly optimistic prediction. It has been reported that 90% of teleworking jobs are at the professional and technical levels (http://audit.kpmg.ca). Generally, these are the levels that those who are disadvantaged do not attain, whether due to lack of education or resources. And the positions that are lower on the hierarchical ladder, which are readily held by those who are less fortunate are not offered as telework alternatives.
Telework is also used as a way where businesses, "... take advantage of and utilize the time zone differences between continents and countries, ... to increase the cost-effectiveness in their activities" (Engstrom, 1999). In this sense, financially successful companies acquire employees from a country with a lower minimum wage. Therefore by opening up the jobs to foreigners, businesses are directly ignoring the workers in their own country. Therefore, telework seems at times to be closing more doors than it is opening as well it seems to create better opportunities for those that are better off to begin with. There is a misconception that anyone can telework; those within executive positions are more likely to telework. Therefore, this excludes a large population of the workforce and is not available to most workers.
The relationship between telework and time is complex. One notion that comes up in every telework discussion is that telework increases free time. However, this statement is misleading, as there are many factors that come into play which either agree or disagree with this statement. Some studies have shown that telework increases free time as was seen in AT&T's 'Telecommuting Survey.' Approximately 22,500 employees at AT&T telecommute regularly (www.att.com) of whom, 61% said that the amount of free time in their lives increased with telework. Conversely, a study by KPMG found that the majority of teleworkers feel that they work the same amount as those in the office and sometimes even more (http://audit.kpmg.ca). This additional time is spent attending staff meetings or coming into the office, all to retain the sense of community between the organization and the telecommuter (http://audit.kpmg.ca). Therefore, some teleworkers may relish their individuality from the office setting and therefore not worry about keeping a tight bond with co-workers. However, for some it may be crucial to their productivity even though it does require them to be spending more time on trivial tasks. Telework has also been suggested as being a way for an individual to make better use of one's time. This could mean that individuals could take longer vacations without worrying about falling behind at the office. This seems very dangerous; in this regard work will be fully incorporated into one's life. The separation between work and play would disappear. Consequently, this could create a lot of tension with respect to familial or social relationships. As well, it could be a potential health hazard as there would now be no escape from the stressful world of work. Therefore, the issue of time and telework is complex. It has the potential for both increasing and decreasing one's free time. It seems to depend upon the individual and his/her characteristics and needs in a working environment.
With respect to society, telework seems to both benefit and disadvantage. In order to ensure the effectiveness of telework, those who wish to follow this type of work routine need to be informed of all effects. Furthermore, society needs to create policies to try to minimize the potentially detrimental effects of telework as it shows promise of being a viable alternative to the office environment. Telework has the potential for being a viable alternate to the workplace. However, many key issues need to be addressed to ensure its effectiveness. As such, these policies have been developed to minimize the detrimental effects of telework and enhance the positive aspects.
First, telework should be optional. This entails that no employee should be required to telework, it should be strictly voluntary. Since telework represents an alternate form of working, it may not be conducive to everyone's productivity. Before an employee changes from the office to the home setting, the employer should be made to provide counseling and guidelines on what is involved in telework.
As well, both supervisors and employers should be trained on the practical consideration of telework. This is to ensure that an individual is fit to telework and that they understand both the advantages and drawbacks to teleworking. Many times, individuals are disillusioned as to what telework really entails and if they are given a realistic depiction of telework, it can save the company and the individual time, effort and avoid the emotional ramifications if telework is not what they imagined it to be. Telework should also be kept as a complementary part of the normal working schedule. This prevents complete isolation and lowers the social implications of working at home.
There needs to be separate policies for home workers and those who work in the traditional office setting. Many employers do provide third party liability coverage for work that is carried out by the teleworker in the home. However, this policy needs to be mandatory to avoid possible legal ramifications later on if an accident occurs in the home during the time of ork. In addition, it should be enforced that each teleworkplace is adequately equipped from a safety and health perspective and that the environment is such that the employees are able to respect the terms and conditions of employment, agreements and policies.
Telework also presents an excellent way of allowing many workers to stay in touch with work when perhaps they cannot. For example, it is ideal for new mothers on maternity leave, as it allows them to be at home to care for their child while still being able to work. It may also prove to be useful for those on disability leave. Therefore, using telework as an option in specific situations should be examined as it is poised to be very beneficial to certain individuals.
Lastly, telework has the potential for enabling individuals in an area of high unemployment to have access to work opportunities that arise all over the world. To take advantage of this, the individual must have skills that are in high demand that will bring their competence to the attention of appropriate employers. This is where the local community needs to come in to one, provide training and education to community members who may lack in the technical skills area and two, establish itself with a high profile on the networks so that "distance working" opportunities are generated for local people. If a conscious effort is not made by the community to increase work opportunities, telework may in fact negatively affect wider employment.
The practice of telework is emerging as a significant factor in the organizations' move toward a more flexible-staffing environment in all functions. Teleworkers are presently increasing all around the world and are expected to continue this increase into the future. It is predicted that by 2005, 25% of the American workforce will be teleworking in some form (Nie, 1999). This explosion of telework has to be accompanied by policies or guidelines to monitor its growth. Although, telework has been around for some time, research in this area is fairly new. As such, a greater emphasis needs to be made to allow for a better understanding of telework and it associated effects. Telework has a positive impact on the physical environment. It is seen as a way to benefit women, disabled persons and single parent households. Conversely, it also has the potential of leading to feelings of isolation and a narrowing of the job market. When teleworking is kept as a complementary part of the normal work schedule, the positive effects are reinforced while minimizing the unwanted consequences. Therefore, telework is a complex phenomenon that has the potential for bringing much promise to society. With the proper implementation, the rise in telework can be recognized as a viable component of the traditional working environment.
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