Samantha Edwards - Telecommuting

TELECOMMUTING:

Will it change the organizational
structure of business as we know it?

Samantha A. Edwards: Literary Review
samantha@nvrlnd.com
Fall 1994

Copyright © 1994 by Samantha A. Edwards
All rights reserved. This paper may not be reproduced
without the expressed written consent of the author.

Samantha Edwards holds a MA in Science, Technology, and Public Policy
from the George Washington University.

Discussions about the benefits of telecommuting are held at all levels of organizational structure, whether it be in the context of government (national and state) or business. With growing concerns for the well-being of the environment, the economy, and society, telecommuting has been put forth as a solution to all of our problems. This paper reviews the literature related to telecommuting, and attempts to address the question, "has telecommuting become a serious work option in the 1990s," from an unbiased position.

Telecommuting is being discussed at both the macro and micro-level. The paper begins with papers written from a supranational perspective since they help define the "big, big picture." As the review narrows to the national, state, and business levels, the focus intensifies, the discussion becomes evermore complex.

THE SUPRANATIONAL PERSPECTIVE

Commission of the European Communities, Growth, Competitiveness, Employment: The Challenges and Ways Forward into the 21st Century (White Paper), Office for the Official Publications of the EC, Luxemborg, May 1993.

Although this publication does not focus solely on telecommuting, it is enlightening to discover how the European Commission fits it into its larger economic development plan. The Commission sees teleworking as one way to reduce "technological unemployment" caused by "a gap...opening up between the speed of technical progress...and our capacity to think up new individual or collective needs which would provide new job opportunities."^(p11) Since this form of unemployment is seen as less permanent than "cyclical" or "structural" unemployment, the Commission believes that strengthening the EC's telecommunications infrastructure is one way to solve the problem. It is the US' advancing "information highway" that has inspired the EC's "information society" ideal. Using US telecommuting data as proof of the US' lead, the Commission stresses the European need to follow the US example:

^{(p. 13)}

This quote embodies the urgent tone prevalent throughout the publication. The Commission believes that new business related to communication networks will rejuvenate the now inflexible European workforce.^{(p. 16)} Teleworking has even become a priority on the Commission's Action Plan since it could change "the way companies are organized,...managers' responsibilities and...relations with workers."^{(p. 11)} The Commission concludes that a teleworking task force and pilot programs must be developed soon so that EC businesses can see the benefits inherent in the new information infrastructure.

European Commision, Actions for stimulation of transborder telework and research cooperation in Europe: Accompanying measures and preparatory actions related to development of advanced communications, Office for Official Publications of the EC, Luxemborg, 1994.

This EC publication demonstrates how differently the US and EC governments define their roles in the promotion of telecommuting and also, how they define the role of telecommuting in the economy. In the US, the trend is for the government create a legal framework so that the private sector can explore new business structures; in Europe, the EC Commission is coaxing the private sector with "hands-on" government funded projects. During a European Summit in June 1993, the President of the European Commission emphasized the need for:

^(Foreword)

After the Summit, the European Commission published a call for proposals aimed at increased employment, industrial growth, and industrial competitiveness within the EC. This publication describes the 35 projects that the Commission accepted from the 122 proposals received.^(Foreword) Although 10 of the projects focused on either the social, environmental, and economic impacts of advanced communications or regional research cooperation, the other 25 dealt with telework issues. These projects aimed at "telework stimulation" fell into five categories:

Decentralization for large organizations,
Development of networked telework centers,
Small business networking,
Urban and inter-urban traffic decongestion, and
Supporting and coordination actions.^{(pp. 13-21)}

After deciphering the typical European excess of acronyms (TESSE, ATTICA, TWIN, COBRA, RECITE, ADVANCE, PLATO, SUNRISE,... ), it is evident that all of these projects aim to improve European social and economic cohesion. This "cohesion" policy is meant to integrate the less developed areas of the EC so that all members have the opportunity to benefit from economic well-being. With projects involving businesses and communities from Ireland to Denmark to Greece, it is hard to imagine how teleworking will not effect EC members. This publication is an excellent source for finding EC teleworking proposals and participants, but as none of the projects have been completed yet; there is no research data or analysis. However, names, addresses, e-mail addresses, telephone and fax numbers accompany each proposal so that it is possible to access information directly.

THE NATIONAL PERSPECTIVE

Transportation Implications of Telecommuting, US Department of Transportation, April 1993.

This comprehensive US Department of Transportation (DOT) publication discusses every aspect of the US transportation system that could be linked to telecommuting. It analyzes the same problems of traffic congestion and air quality control as both the Los Angeles (LA) and Virginia reports (see below), but focuses on the federal framework needed for future telecommuting. For instance, instead of discussing decreased fuel consumption as being a benefit for telecommuters, the DOT worries about decreased fuel tax revenues.^{(p. 74)} Also, because the DOT's focus is public sector telecommuting, the federally-funded programs it suggests could not be reproduced in the private sector environment. It addresses the same employer/employee benefits and concerns as the articles and studies above but its "big picture" point of view does not permit any more detail or analysis.
The most innovative section, "Possible Scenarios of Future Technological Developments Relevant to Telecommuting," introduces the idea that future technologies will change business structure as we know it today. DOT believes that the introduction of advanced multimedia and virtual reality systems will erase present hierarchical business structures.^{(p. A-23)} As these high-technology systems "allow us to be more or less independent of space and time," "virtual" business environments will give workers and their employers more flexibility.^{(p. A-27)} For instance, advanced technology would create "decisionmaking structures that integrate qualitative input from many people" and therefore, flatten business hierarchies. Networked but "geographically dispersed organizations" could contact specialized working groups as soon as a need appeared, without relying on a supervisor to allocate the work.^{(p. A-28)} Scientists at MIT have even developed "coordination theory" in order to understand how the interaction between people and machines may change the human experience.^{(p. A-25)} DOT believes that we may be able "to redefine such basic concepts as identity, community, and reality" as the computer/human relationship grows. This interaction would give telecommuters and their employers capabilities that we cannot imagine at present. Even so, this discussion of the possibilities of the future information infrastructure adds an imaginative dimension to the telecommuting debate.

THE STATE LEVEL PERSPECTIVE

City of Los Angeles Telecommuting Project: Final Report, JALA International, Los Angeles, California, March 1993.

This Los Angeles Project is the most recent and most comprehensive test of telecommuting that has been completed in the US to date. Its success has been noted in both printed and visual media and as a consequence, has been heralded as proof that telecommuting will have a significant future role in the business environment. This state-government study involved about 500 Los Angeles City employees who had either applied or were selected by their managers to be part of the year-long study. The prospective telecommuters and their 'telemanagers' trained from January 1991 until March 1992. Only 242 of the 441 trained telecommuters signed agreements to participate in the one-year program; 203 were still telecommuting in March 1993.^{(pp. 1-2)} The report contains a detailed project description, a potential impact study, recommendations, an action plan, telecommuting guidelines, evaluation methodology, and quotes from supervisors.^{(pp. iv-vi)}

This study is important for Los Angeles, in particular, since the Southern California Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) requires a 20 percent decrease in commuting by 2010. With its primary goal being air quality improvement, the elimination of commuting trips through telecommuting is the solution. Carpooling is supposed to reduce traffic congestion and improve air quality but the SCAQMD determined that there is no real effect on pollution. Workers drive to a carpool meeting point and because cold engine starts create the most pollutants, these short drives do almost as much damage as a full commute. The report concluded that telecommuting one to two days a week would eliminate 276 pounds of carbon monoxide and 17 pounds of nitrogen oxides from being released annually per person.^{(p. 3)}

Although this study was done in the public sector, many of its methods and results can also be applied to private business. For instance, the fact that departments usually picked their best employees for the project created envy within the non-telecommuter control group - to them, it looked as though the telecommuters were being given time off.^{(p. 26)} The report recommended that non-telecommuters should also have training so that they realize that telecommuters are just as, if not more accountable for progress in their work. Supervisors reported that the 'cost effectiveness' of telecommuting participants increased 12.5 percent more than non-telecommuters during the project. The report explains that it measures 'effectiveness' instead of the usual 'productivity' because a productive worker can be completing a task incorrectly, whereas an effective worker is "doing the right things - and doing them right."^(p.77) This report concludes that telecommuting is the solution for lowering pollution and traffic problems, and increasing cost effectiveness and employee retention. Its final recommendation to increase the program to 15,000 City employees over the next ten years proves how positively LA interprets the report's results.

I. Telecommuting: An Executive's Guide and II. Work a Little Magic: How to Start Your Own Telecommuting Program, The Govenor's Telework/Telecommuting Advisory Task Force, Virginia Department of Transportation, Virginia, 1993.

These two publications from the Department of Transportation in Virginia (VDOT) are based on the results of the LA Telecommuting Project. They are promotional materials which aim to encourage Virginian businesses to consider telecommuting as the "Management Tool of the '90's."^{(I - p. 1)} The "Executive's Guide" is a condensed version of "How to Start Your Own Telecommuting Program." This second publication defines telecommuting as "replacing the trip from home to a traditional workplace with electronic communications, full- or part-time."^{(II - p. 3)} It addresses the various questions companies usually ask about telecommuting before launching into its detailed sections on program design and implementation. It creates a step-by-step procedure which a moves from gathering support within the organization to writing a formal telecommuting agreement and training managers and their subordinates. The Appendix even contains sample policy statements and agreements, as well as worksheets that are intended to improve managers/telecommuter communications and redefine work expectations.^{(II - pp. 74-81)} In conclusion, these publications do not include any research data or insightful information because they are based on the results of the LA Project. They are obviously pro-telecommuting since they are intended to promote and increase the use of telecommuting in the private sector in Virginia. Their sample materials would be useful to companies interested in creating telecommuting programs but it is important that the user not forget that these publications are based on biased and persuasive foundations.

THE BUSINESS LEVEL PERSPECTIVE

Huws, Ursula. "Telework: Projections," Futures, (January/February 1991, Volume 32, Number 1).

This article is a historical survey of "different meanings which have been assigned to the idea of the electronic homeworker...and...the assumptions which underlie them."^{(p. 19)} The author is fascinated by how predictions give us insight into the preoccupations and predicaments of the time, rather than insight into the future. As Huws traces the origin of "telework" (or telecommuting, as we know it in the US), we see that it has a "nebulous and ill-defined"^{(p. 28)} quality that may explain why many businesses are wary of creating official corporate policies for its implementation.

Huws defines the telecommuter as a symbol that combines "full participation in the international traffic of ideas and information...[with] enclosure in the protective sanctuary of home."^{(p. 20)} A symbol does not fit into one precise definition and therefore evokes emotional and polarized commentaries. It is interesting to follow her discussion because the images of the telecommuter have developed substantially since the term first appeared in popular media in the early 1970's. Telecommuting appeared as a solution for decreasing fuel usage during the energy crisis.^{(p. 22)} Huws argues that because the 'typical' telecommuter replaced the 'typical' commuter, the "popular imagery of the period...assumes this person to be male, working in a managerial or professional capacity, conforming to a corporate ethos and living in the other suburbs."^{(p. 22)} After the invention of the silicon chip and word processors, this "middle-class and male" telecommuter image transforms into a "passive female operator" who embodies "silliness and unreliability."^{(p. 23)} Huws' choice of words makes no pretense about her opinion of this degrading female image. The discussion reveals the use of telecommuting as a solution to: the energy crisis, breakdown of the family, decreasing of business overheads, and creating an entrepreneurial economy!^{(pp. 24-28)} It is not surprising that Huws concludes that the term 'telework' defies definition. She believes that all the definitions will "interact with each other to produce new and unexpected patterns; new areas of conflict will arise and, in the resolution of these conflicts, new social forms will be negotiated."^{(p. 29)} Although Huws' has a pro-woman point of view throughout the article, her final observations on the complex and "unexpected patterns" of telecommuting are unique.

Richter, Judith and Illan Meshulam. "Telework at home: The home and the organization perspective," Human Systems Management, (1993, Volume 12, Number 3).

These authors view telecommuting as the natural progression of organizational flexibility from the 1960's "flexitime," to the 1970's "flexi compensation," to the 1980's "flexi organization".^{(p. 193)} They emphasize the need to examine telecommuting "as an integrated, total, large "theater", with the individual, the family and the organization playing the main parts."^{(p. 199)} The introduction focuses on the fact that telecommunications have given workers and business work options that were not previously available to them. Although professionals and artisans have been able to work from home successfully, the article focuses on how the average "salaried employees and wage earners" will be effected by these potential changes in the business environment. In order to strengthen the argument that working at home will be a more frequent reality in the future, Richter and Meshulam give statistics indicating this upward trend. They also cite numerous studies, from both US and EC-based companies, showing productivity increases due to telecommuting.

The Home Stage. The first section of Richter and Meshulam's analysis focuses on the difficulty homeworkers face separating home and work responsibilities. Their central discussion explains how lack of geographical separation adds family demands to the telecommuter's business day. The authors emphasize that office-workers use commuting time to "cross the boundary" between the home and work domain; therefore, this "interposed transition" can be planned into the telecommuter's day to help them mentally shift from home to work mode.^{(p. 198)} The home work environment is both more permeable - switching from home to work mode is more frequent - and work hours are more flexible. Richter and Meshulan introduce "structural...[and] personal role redefinition" as being essential in order to cope with "boundary permeability" at home.^{(pp. 196-7)} They explain that telecommuters must redefine what family and co-workers expect from them, as well as what they expect of themselves. The authors conclude that the "optimal framework...allows for controlled flexibility and permeability of boundaries and the appropriate transition process across them."^{(p. 197)} Training programs can help workers define these boundaries.

The Work & Organization Stage. Training can also help managers adjust their techniques to the new situation. Remote supervising is a challenge since the manager must deal with the worker's new-found independence while maintaining cohesion with the organization's daily operations. How do you appraise an at-home worker? How do you maintain the worker's loyalty to the corporate culture? Do you need to adjust incentive packages and reward systems? How do you insure that the organization's intellectual property remains uncompromised?^{(pp. 197-200)} Richter and Meshulam attempt to answer these questions while admitting that they do not know what the consequences telecommuting will have on corporate cultures. They conclude that their "holistic approach to evaluating a work-at-home program,"^{(p. 202)} although not the fastest procedure, is the most effective.

Braus, Patricia. "Homework for Grownups," American Demographics, (August 1993).

This article links the increased popularity of working at home to the decreasing costs of office equipment. Patricia Braus analyzes data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), LINK Resources and The Roper Organization to discover how many people work at home.^{(p. 40)} Her 20 to 39 million person range demonstrates how difficult it is to obtain precise data - the BLS explains that its statistics are skewed lower than others because people do not want to declare their at-home work for tax reasons.^{(p. 40)} Also, the BLS may have a much stricter definition for the word "teleworker."

Whatever the actual numbers, Braus believes that the upward trend in telecommuting is directly related to increasing computer, fax machine, copier, and answering machine sales.^{(p. 41)} She suggests that these increases are also due to the "kids of the 1960's bringing their attitudes to their lives" now that their median age, 38, is the median age for the average telecommuter.^{(p. 42)} Full-time home workers are most likely to be "home maintenance contractors, truck drivers, or house and office cleaners" although part-time home workers shared a large part of 1992's $25 billion in office technology sales and services.^{(p. 42)} Most of Braus' data suggests that during the early 1990's, working at home became a necessity rather than a choice for white-collar workers because of corporate downsizing. Since "regular" jobs were less available, people improved their home offices in order to improve their productivity and incomes.^{(p. 42)} Most home workers miss the traditional office environment but at the same time, ninety-six percent would recommend the telecommuting lifestyle to others.^{(p. 42)}

Braus believes that the decreasing cost of office equipment is one of the key reasons why working at home will increase in the future. Demographic trends and increased respectability are also important factors that she considers throughout the article. Braus concludes with the point that regardless of why more people are working at home, the positive trend has made it an "increasingly acceptable behavior."^{(p. 42)} Being "in vogue" should make working at home even more popular as the baby boomers mature.^{(p. 42)}

Risman, Barbara J. and Donald Tomaskovic-Devey. "The Social Construction of Technology: Microcomputers and the Organization of Work", Business Horizons, (May/June 1989).

This article does not believe that technology will drive telecommuting trends in the future. Risman and Tomaskovic-Devey state that "the adoption of telecommuting is not likely to be widespread [because of] contemporary corporate culture and managerial control."^{(p. 71)} This research is interesting since a high percentage of telecommuting researchers assume that the practice is an inevitable progression for all businesses. Since Risman et al. defined telecommuting as being home working "with a computer-technology twist," they sent their research surveys to North Carolina-based firms in the Research Triangle area that they assumed would have the environments most conducive to telecommuting.^{(p. 73)} The returned surveys indicated that 87 percent of the respondents had heard of telecommuting and 40 percent of them believed that they might implement it in the future. However, with 76 percent of the respondents being concerned with loss of managerial control, it is evident that "the future" will be delayed as long as possible.^{(p. 74)}

The authors' most interesting finding was how managers perceive the advantages of telecommuting as being different for clerical staff and professionals. For clericals, telecommuting "was seen as a source of savings in labor costs, and was judged practical because of the routine and repetitive nature of clericals tasks" whereas for professionals, it "was...linked to goals of increased productivity and employees satisfaction."^{(p. 74)} This difference is caused by the fact that managers think they would use telecommuting as an enticement for their most motivated and creative workers.^{(pp. 73-74)} Managers think that they can cut costs and the workforce by making full-time clerical workers part-time home workers. In their view, clericals (usually women) would prefer to be at home where they can also look after their children!^{(p. 74)} The authors conclude that since telecommuting "tends to exacerbate current inequalities in the workplace," it seems unlikely that many organizations will make it policy.^{(p. 74)} Risman et al. contend that most organizational structures will not change to accommodate new technologies and business practices. In general, they think that many workers will be better off if telecommuting remains contained. This conclusion is endemic to the management framework of the late 1980's - these unionistic opinions are rarely voiced in the 1990's.

Yap, Chee Sing and Helen Tng. "Factors associated with attitudes towards telecommuting," Information & Management, (November 1990, Number 19, Volume 4).

This paper is fascinating because it is based on research done with a very specific group; Yap and Tng surveyed female computer professionals in Singapore. Their findings reflected the culture in a predictable way, although it is still powerful to see research findings re-enforce cultural stereotypes. The authors define telecommuting as "work carried out at home during regular office hours by employees of organizations."^{(p. 227)} They had assumed that women in Singapore would not be interested in telecommuting because public transportation is so effective. Furthermore, the size of the island makes commuting by car from one end of the island to the other less than one hour. Transportation is evidently not the deciding factor in a culture in which 56% of the women that drop out of the labor force do so in order to become full-time housewives and mothers.^{(p. 228)} Since Singapore has a small labor pool, Yap and Tng thought that telecommuting would be "one way for women with family commitments to remain in the labor force while fulfilling their domestic responsibilities."^{(p. 228)} Most studies that the authors refer to indicate that expecting home-workers to provide childcare has negative effects on worker productivity and morale. Even so, 36 percent of the respondents said that they would still be in favor of telecommuting if they had children.

The authors conclude that most female computer professionals would be willing to do their work on a part-time basis as long as their supervisors and co-workers were supportive.^{(p. 228)} The respondents felt that they would have difficulties separating work and home life and communicating with their offices on a full-time basis. Furthermore, if they did not have supervisor and co-workers approval, they thought telecommuting would jeopardize their career advancement.^{(p. 234)} Clearly, the authors demonstrate that Singaporean female professionals like the idea of combining work and domesticity although the study cannot represent the opinions of female workers world-wide.

Hodson, Noel. The Economics of Teleworking, British Telecom, Ipswich, UK, July 1994.

This paper demonstrates through a series of case studies that teleworking has financial and social benefits for both employers and employees. Hodson argues that while employers reduce their overhead costs due to less need for central office space and less employee sick leave, employees benefit from more flexible, less-stressed lifestyles.^{(pp. 10-15)} Hodson hypothesizes that the benefits of teleworking are so great - for economic, social and environmental reasons - that work habits will completely change the organizational structure of business by 2024.^{(p. 8)} The financial analysis in the six case studies clearly indicates that every type of company can benefit from implementing a form of teleworking, whether it be employees working full- or part-time at home or just improved telecommunications in the office (e.g. video-conferencing facilities) cutting commuting time.^{(pp. 25-31)}

The most innovative section of this paper discusses the short, medium and long term effects of telecommuting. In the next five years, business should benefit financially as employee "desk sharing" reduces the need for as much office space.^{(p. 7)} Computer-literate employees from the "Nintendo Generation" (i.e. twenty-somethings less familiar with the old 9-5 work ethic) will adapt best to the new work method since they will reason "why should we pay to travel to work to use methods half as efficient as our home computers?"^{(p. 7)} Within ten years, Hodson believes that as teleworkers fully accept the new status of their "virtual" organizations, their corporate loyalty will increase because "significant life changes can be incorporated into one career" in a more flexible work environment.^{(p. 8)} Finally, in thirty years time, if we allow ourselves to fully benefit from the "electronic revolution" in progress, we will "expand and enjoy our lives and realize our full potential."^{(p. 8)} This brief summary trivializes Hodson's argument but it is hard to encapsulate such a grand vision of the future work environment. The only disturbing part of Hodson's discussion was his view that as large organizations out-source more of their activities, "they will win greater global control over their franchised activities making competition from smaller players less likely to succeed."^{(p. 9)} It is evident from this statement that the author is not familiar with U.S. Anti-trust laws! Besides this oversight, Hodson's arguments and analysis seem sound. His varied case studies clearly back his conclusion that teleworking is a viable option for every business.

Concluding Observations:

This collection of telecommuting-focused literature suggests that it is considered a valid subject of analysis. Since data seems to indicate that telework is the solution to all of our social, economic, and environmental concerns, it is not surprising that it is discussed at every level of organization. More information is needed about the psychological effects on the telecommuter and the home environment after a prolonged period of working at home. With telecommuting pilot projects being so new, it will be a while before such analyses will be available.