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Abstract : Teleworking - working remotely from an office - is said to have
many benefits for organisations, the environment and society. It
provokes mixed reactions from its acolytes and those that
experience it first-hand.
Whether you like it or not, it is true to say that work is no
longer dependent on geography and this opens up a range of
opportunities for working in new ways and environments. Indeed the
Bonn-based Empirica estimates the number of teleworkers in Europe
has doubled in the past three years to 20 million.
Previous research has shown that telework can make a substantial
contribution to the three pillars of sustainable development
identified at the Gothenburg summit of 2001 - the economy, society
and environment.
It can assist economic development, for example, through increasing
staff productivity and enabling better use of office space. It can
assist the social objectives of sustainable development by, for
example, balancing work with family life, or by providing work
opportunities to those who might otherwise be excluded, such as the
disabled or people looking after children or elderly relatives. And
it can be environmentally friendly, reducing commuting to and from
work.
When studying the sustainability of using new technologies it is
important to clarify what is being 'sustained', for how long, for
whose benefit and at who's cost, over what area, and measured by
what criteria?
The European Commission's IST project SUSTEL, led by Professor
Peter James of the SustainIT unit of the UK Centre for Environment
and Economic Development (UKCEED) was set up to undertake a
comprehensive assessment of the relationship between teleworking
and sustainable development.
Using a newly developed sustainability assessment framework based
on the UN and Global Reporting Initiative models, the team (many of
them teleworkers themselves) gathered data on 27 key research
questions about the three pillars of telework.
Understanding the economic benefits
"This research has increased the amount of hard data on the
economic benefits of teleworking. The surveys and many of the cases
provide solid evidence of improved work performance," reports
Professor James. There was, not only, increased productivity but
also "a better quality of work. For example, teleworkers tend to
make fewer mistakes, and approach their work more creatively."
The surveys show "that the productivity increase is not primarily
because of longer working hours (as is sometimes suggested) .
Although prevalent, working more is just one of a number of
influencing factors, and not the most important."
An unusual comparison of the performance of teleworkers with a
closely matched control group of non-teleworkers found that not
only was productivity higher, but also that absenteeism and error
rates were lower.
Two other areas where SUSTEL has added to the economic impact
knowledge base is its effect on absenteeism and space utilisation.
In the case of absenteeism, over 60 per cent of those surveyed
stated that telework had enabled them to work when they were
prevented from reaching a work location (usually through illness or
transport problems). Around half the cases also identified
substantial reductions in space requirements - to the point where
one organisation had completely done away with a central office.
However, large space reductions seem to require a transition from
relatively ad hoc forms of teleworking to a 'total solution' which
involves staff giving up dedicated office space and working at a
combination of home, hot desks and 'on the road'. In practice, few
organisations have yet made this transition.
Teleworking and transport
The project also examined the total transport impacts of
teleworking. Previous US research has suggested that much of the
reduction in commuting travel from teleworking is eroded by
additional travel. One suggested reason is that, because an extra
car is now available at home during the day, extra journeys are
undertaken by teleworkers themselves or other household members.
The survey found that additional travel varied between 14 per cent
of the commuting reduction in Italy, 19 per cent in Germany, 24-25
per cent in the UK and 73 per cent in Denmark. One explanation of
the high Danish figure may be the much higher proportion of women
in the organisation's workforce, who had a higher level of
transport connected with childcare and other domestic duties.
The figures therefore show that teleworking can reduce total travel
substantially but that additional travel is significant and can in
certain cases erode most of the benefit.
The social impact of telework
Socially, the SUSTEL research found that most survey respondents
felt that teleworking gave them a better quality of life and
work-life balance. Many also reported health benefits. A
significant number also stated that they were using local services
more and becoming more involved in their local communities.
The loss of teamwork and team spirit within teleworking populations
was tackled through ideas such as Oracle's 'FUNctional' offices.
Designed to increase communication and interaction when people are
at the office, they are bright, and focused around a central cafe
to stimulate ideas and face-to-face contact.
The finding that many teleworkers report both longer working hours
and better quality of life is paradoxical. More time working is
usually associated with increased stress, domestic tension and
other factors that reduce quality of life.
One possible explanation is that, for many individuals, their
increased working hours will be less than the time they have saved
in commuting. Hence, they still have more time available for family
and other activities. For some, the stress associated with
commuting (especially for long distances) may be less than that
arising from additional working time. Perhaps most significantly,
teleworking can in effect create time through opportunities for
multi-tasking or greater control of activities. As one survey
respondent noted, "Although the amount of time has not changed it
has made the weekends freer, as domestic activities can be fitted
in during lunchtimes or early morning."
Of course, teleworking does not constitute a job in itself, only a
method of working - individuals still need to have the expertise
and skills to bring to their work. However, in order to help
companies find this 'best method', the next stage of the SUSTEL
project involves using the research materials to create an online
business tool. This will provide organisations with a quick 'health
check' to assess the economic, environmental and social impacts of
their teleworking scheme, and provide ideas on how it can be
improved. It should be online by early autumn.
Subject Descriptors : Information processing, Information retrieval, Information
transmission
Subject Index Codes : Information Processing, Information Systems
Subject Class : IT, telecommunications
Remarks : Results Entry form
Collaboration Sought : Further research or development support, Information
exchange/Training
Sources of Support : CEC
Programmes : IST
Projects : IST-2001-33228
Project Title : SUStainable TELework - Assessing and Optimising the Ecological
and
Social Benefits of Teleworking
Contact Details
Contact Name : JAMES, Peter
Position : Project Manager
Contact Organisation : The UK Centre for Economic and Environmental
Development
Address : Priestgate House, 3/7 Priestgate PE1 1JN
City : Peterborough
Region : EAST MIDLANDS
LINCOLNSHIRE
Country : UNITED KINGDOM
Telephone Number : +44-1733-311644
Fax Number : +44-1733-312782
Electronic Mailbox : p.james@ukceed.org
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