Working at Home with Computers: Work and Nonwork Issues

Abstract

The term telecommuting refers to the substitution of telecommunications technology for physical travel to a central work location; it usually implies that the person is working in the home. This paper reviews organizational arrangements which allow employees to work at home on a regular basis as a substitute for attendance at the normal workplace. Two extreme cases of the implementation of such an arrangement are described. In the first, where the employee has a skill in demand and a job that is characterized by complexity and autonomy, work at home reinforces the individual's autonomy and self‐control over the work. In the second case, where the employee's skill is not in demand and he or she has few other work options due to nonwork (i.e., family) constraints, the job is designed to reduce individual autonomy and may involve reduced compensation relative to comparable work performed on‐site. Based on interviews with employees working at home, we examine the effects of work at home on the relationship between the employee and employer, the connection between work and nonwork domains, and gender issues. We tentatively conclude that work at home will not become a widespread trend, but there is sufficient interest in its use as a flexible work option in special cases that it should be examined more closely.

Studying Information Technology in Organizations: Research Approaches and Assumptions

“…Implementation studies for example, [Alavi & Henderson 1981;Franz & Robey 1984;Ginzberg 1981;Lucas 1981;Markus 19831 [Bartol 1983;Baroudi 1985;Ivancevich et al 1983;Weiss 19831 are concerned with understanding the processes which result in job dissatisfaction, turnover, and stress for systems builders. Other researchers have focused on the power shifts generated by technology and technological dependence [Lucas 1984; Danziger et al 1982;Kling 1978Kling , 1980Kling & Iacono 1984;Laudon 1974;Olson & Primps 1984;Turner 1984;Zuboff 19881. These are only a sampling of topics that one can find under investigation yet all share a common thread.…”

Work–life Balance and Working from Home

“…Much of the research on homeworking has found that homeworking is diversified by gender (Olson and Primps, 1984;Gurstein, 1991;Gunnarsson and Huws, 1997). 8 The indication from the current study is that because men define themselves primarily as wage earners, they have fewer personal conflicts when combining home and work than women.…”

“…There are potential difficulties and tensions that come with homeworking and teleworking (Bussing, 1998;Gurstein, 1991;Gurstein, 2001;Haddon, 1998;Huws, 1994;Moran, 1993). Homeworking can increase the permeability of the boundary between work and family domains, causing attempts to juggle work and family schedules to become more difficult (Bulos and Chaker, 1995;Olson and Primps, 1984;Crossen, 1990;Foegen, 1993;Gottlieb et al, 1998;Madigan et al, 1990;Royal College of Art, 1999;Sullivan, 2000).…”

Making Sense of Mobile Technology

“…Ellison (1999) identifies "employees isolation," "boundaries between home and work," and "the impact of telework on the individual and the family," among others, as the major thematic concerns raised by telework research. As was the case with the emergence of teleworking, which altered the traditional approaches and policies concerning attendance, absenteeism, tardiness, and time off (Olson & Primps, 1984), mobile technology is redefining boundaries in the social and work contexts (Harmer & Pauleen, 2012). In the workplace, mobile technology affects various aspects of work and the workplace.…”