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Article
Publication date: 1 April 1990

Barbara Jizba and Brian H. Kleiner

Examines the possibilities and requirements of home‐based workarrangements. Considers personal work style, home environment and jobrequisites as deciding factors about the…

Abstract

Examines the possibilities and requirements of home‐based work arrangements. Considers personal work style, home environment and job requisites as deciding factors about the suitability of working at home. Concludes that whether working at home suits an individual depends on their preferences and requirements, although this segment of the workforce is likely to persist in the future as the population ages and retirees continue their professional interests at home.

Details

Work Study, vol. 39 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0043-8022

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 January 1985

Linda Thompson

Changing work patterns and the development of new technology (principally microcomputers being connected through the telephone network) the way is clear to the “telecommuting” era…

Abstract

Changing work patterns and the development of new technology (principally microcomputers being connected through the telephone network) the way is clear to the “telecommuting” era in which information travels (via coaxial and fibre optic cables) to the workforce, rather than the workforce undertaking the commuting. Only limited categories of people are working in this way at present; data from interviews with 78 female computer programmers/analysts working from terminals at home in 1981/2 reveals a difficulty for women in this position in that working at home may be considered a hobby when combined with caring for young children. It has been said that for most people working at home means “… appalling wages, insecurity and health hazards”. Though there is nothing in the technology itself which is inherently exploitative or oppressive, neither will it automatically reduce drudgery or caring about greater prosperity for all.

Details

Industrial Management & Data Systems, vol. 85 no. 1/2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0263-5577

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Article
Publication date: 1 July 2002

Crystal Fulton

Provides the foundation for work accomplished by information professionals. As telework, or working regularly from home using telecommunications technology, is increasingly…

1173

Abstract

Provides the foundation for work accomplished by information professionals. As telework, or working regularly from home using telecommunications technology, is increasingly adopted in the workplace, employees are challenged to maintain the same level of connectivity in their network of information sources. Teleworkers experience a variety of changes in their work situations, as not only is their physical work location altered, but also their means of working changes. Examines ways in which library and information science professionals can facilitate teleworkers’ information access. The information environments of 20 teleworkers and 20 at‐office information professionals with similar jobs are discussed. Researchers have predicted a restructuring of organizations and of information into electronic formats to accommodate work done from home results and reveal that teleworkers still relied heavily on print sources of information. Teleworkers adopted specific strategies for ensuring availability of information in their at‐home work environments, including asking colleagues to send information to them at home. Suggests that library and information science professionals have a vital role to play in teleworkers’ interaction with information. Ways of training library and information science professionals are discussed.

Details

New Library World, vol. 103 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0307-4803

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Article
Publication date: 16 January 2024

Hannah Kira Wilson, Matthew Tucker and Gemma Dale

This research investigates the challenges and benefits of working from home and the needs that organisations should understand when adopting working from home practices.

Abstract

Purpose

This research investigates the challenges and benefits of working from home and the needs that organisations should understand when adopting working from home practices.

Design/methodology/approach

Self-determination theory was used to understand the drivers of motivation when working from home, to provide a deep understanding of how organisations may support employees working from home. A cross-sectional qualitative survey design was used to collect data from 511 office workers during May and June of 2020.

Findings

Employees' needs for competence were thwarted by a lack of direction and focus, unsuitable work environment, work extensification and negative work culture. Employees' experiences and needs for relatedness were more diverse, identifying that they enjoyed spending more time with family and having a greater connection to the outdoors, but felt more isolated and suffered from a lack of interaction. Employees' experiences of autonomy whilst working from home were also mixed, having less autonomy from blurred boundaries between home and work, as well as childcare responsibilities. Conversely, there was more freedom to be able to concentrate on physical health.

Practical implications

Employee’s needs for competence should be prioritised. Organisations must be conscious of this and provide the support that enables direction and focus when working at home.

Originality/value

Swathes of research were conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic, but overwhelmingly focused on quantitative methods. A qualitative survey design enabled participants to answer meaningful open-ended questions, better suited to explain the complexity of their experiences, which allowed for understanding and richness not gained through previous studies.

Details

Journal of Organizational Effectiveness: People and Performance, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2051-6614

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 25 September 2020

Jana Mikats

Home-based work results in a specific spatiotemporal arrangement: one location serves as both the family home and the workplace. This mode of work shapes the everyday family life…

Abstract

Home-based work results in a specific spatiotemporal arrangement: one location serves as both the family home and the workplace. This mode of work shapes the everyday family life and at the same time has to be adjusted to suit the divergent needs of all family members involved, especially if children live in the same household. So far, research on home-based work has predominantly examined home-based workers’ and adults’ perspectives. Therefore, this chapter puts children’s perspectives at the centre of the inquiry and recognises the wider web of family relations and home by focussing on the spatiotemporal coordination of everyday family life.

This chapter examines how children conceptualise parental home-based work in relation to their everyday family life and home, and how they participate in family practices in the context of home-based work.

The contribution is based on original empirical data that were collected during fieldwork with 11 families in Austria. It builds on observations of daily routines in these families, photointerviews and guided tours through the home with kindergarten and primary school-aged children as well as qualitative interviews with home-based workers living in these households.

From children’s perspectives, the findings show various independences between paid work and family life when work and home coincide. The in-depth analysis of these everyday situations emphasises how children actively modify and shape everyday family life and home in the context of parental home-based work arrangements. Family practices are constantly done and in so doing turn temporarily both the house and the workspace into a home.

Details

Bringing Children Back into the Family: Relationality, Connectedness and Home
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83867-197-6

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 19 April 2023

Alexandra Mergener, Ines Entgelmeier and Timothy Rinke

This chapter examines the extent to which Working from Home (WfH) affects the temporal alignment of work and private life, i.e., the consideration of personal and family interests…

Abstract

This chapter examines the extent to which Working from Home (WfH) affects the temporal alignment of work and private life, i.e., the consideration of personal and family interests in work scheduling, for male and female employees with and without children. A distinction is made between telework that is formally recognized home working time by the employer, and informal overtime at home that is not recorded. It is argued that while the first represents a job resource, by increasing flexibility in work scheduling, the latter constitutes a job demand, which hinders the consideration of personal and family responsibilities in work time planning. Due to differences in status beliefs, identification and the distribution of childcare, gender gaps as well as differences according to family responsibilities are predicted in these associations. Using data from the German BIBB/BAuA Employment Survey 2018, the temporal alignment of work and private life is found to be positively associated with telework, particularly so for men, and negatively associated with informal overtime at home, particularly so for women. While mothers do not benefit from telework during regular working hours in particular, they have the worst temporal alignment of work and private life when they work informal overtime at home.

Article
Publication date: 17 November 2023

Simon Lansmann, Jana Mattern, Simone Krebber and Joschka Andreas Hüllmann

Positive experiences with working from home (WFH) during the Corona pandemic (COVID-19) have motivated many employees to continue WFH after the pandemic. However, factors…

Abstract

Purpose

Positive experiences with working from home (WFH) during the Corona pandemic (COVID-19) have motivated many employees to continue WFH after the pandemic. However, factors influencing employees' WFH intentions against the backdrop of experiences during pandemic-induced enforced working from home (EWFH) are heterogeneous. This study investigates factors linked to information technology (IT) professionals' WFH intentions.

Design/methodology/approach

This mixed-methods study with 92 IT professionals examines the effects of seven predictors for IT professionals' WFH intentions. The predictors are categorized according to the trichotomy of (1) characteristics of the worker, (2) characteristics of the workspace and (3) the work context. Structural equation modeling is used to analyze the quantitative survey data. In addition, IT professionals' responses to six open questions in which they reflect on past experiences and envision future work are examined.

Findings

Quantitative results suggest that characteristics of the worker, such as segmentation preference, are influencing WFH intentions stronger than characteristics of the workspace or the work context. Furthermore, perceived productivity during EWFH and gender significantly predict WFH intentions. Contextualizing these quantitative insights, the qualitative data provides a rich yet heterogeneous list of factors why IT professionals prefer (not) to work from home.

Practical implications

Reasons influencing WFH intentions vary due to individual preferences and constraints. Therefore, a differentiated organizational approach is recommended for designing future work arrangements. In addition, the findings suggest that team contracts to formalize working patterns, e.g. to agree on the needed number of physical meetings, can be helpful levers to reduce the complexity of future work that is most likely a mix of WFH and office arrangements.

Originality/value

This study extends literature reflecting on COVID-19-induced changes, specifically the emerging debate about why employees want to continue WFH. It is crucial for researchers and practitioners to understand which factors influence IT professionals' WFH intentions and how they impact the design and implementation of future hybrid work arrangements.

Details

Information Technology & People, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-3845

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 14 December 2023

Sarah M. Flood and Katie R. Genadek

The COVID-19 pandemic spurred major, and possibly enduring, changes in paid work. In this chapter, we explore the continuity and change in several work day dimensions, including…

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic spurred major, and possibly enduring, changes in paid work. In this chapter, we explore the continuity and change in several work day dimensions, including where it is performed, the amount of time spent working, the length of the work day, and who people are with when they work, as well as variation across population subgroups. We use nationally representative data from the American Time Use Survey (ATUS) to analyze change across the 2019 to 2021 period. While the shift to working primarily at home in 2020 is dramatic and continuing into 2021, working primarily at the workplace remains the modal experience for Americans. We find differences by gender, education, parental status, and age in which workers perform their jobs at home, and we find much more continuity in how much people work and when they work.

Details

Time Use in Economics
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83753-604-7

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 October 2023

Tavleen Kaur and Santanu Mandal

COVID-19 disrupted the usual way of working for many people across the globe, making full-time work from home and hybrid models two popular work arrangements. Despite the…

Abstract

Purpose

COVID-19 disrupted the usual way of working for many people across the globe, making full-time work from home and hybrid models two popular work arrangements. Despite the proliferation and high acceptance of the hybrid model, very little research has focused on the same. This study aims to compare the impact of transitions caused by remote work on work disengagement under two settings: remote work and hybrid model.

Design/methodology/approach

The data is collected from three corporate hubs in India: Hyderabad, Gurgaon and Bangalore. This study’s respondents represent two working models: full-time work from home and a hybrid model. Responses were collected using Google forms-based questionnaire, which resulted in the following usable responses: 356 (hybrid) and 398 (work from home).

Findings

The findings reveal that the structural model for the hybrid sector explained 11% of the variance in work disengagement, while the same for work from home model accounted for 20% of the variance in work disengagement. The authors also tested for the moderation of individual resilience between work-home and home-to-work conflicts and home-to-work transitions and work-to-home conflict under full-time work-from and hybrid models. Based on 356 respondents from hybrid category and 398 from work from home, the study found that employees experience less work-to-home and home-to-work conflicts in the hybrid model and employees experience more work-to-home and home-to-work conflicts in the full-time work from home model.

Originality/value

The study is also the first to examine the moderating role of individual resilience as a tool to bounce back and handle conflicts. As the full-time work from home model leads to more work-to-home and home-to-work conflicts, individuals have more scope to exhibit resilience, and thus, the moderating relationship is stronger in the full-time work from home model. The paper offers theoretical and managerial implications.

Details

International Journal of Conflict Management, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1044-4068

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 10 October 2023

Kyra Voll and Andreas Pfnür

The world of work is constantly changing. The COVID-19 pandemic has reinforced working from home, and there is an increasing demand for flexibility regarding the workplace. There…

Abstract

Purpose

The world of work is constantly changing. The COVID-19 pandemic has reinforced working from home, and there is an increasing demand for flexibility regarding the workplace. There is little empirical evidence on the mechanisms and factors that influence employee outcomes, such as productivity and turnover intention, at the workplace and at home. In addition, it is unclear whether the workplace characteristics that influence employee outcomes vary between different nations due to country-specific circumstances. The paper aims to address these two issues.

Design/methodology/approach

The research model applied in this study is based on the job demands-resources (JD-R) and environmental demands-resources models using German (n = 429) and USA (n = 507) survey samples. Partial least squares structural equation modelling is used to analyse the influence of workplace characteristics (isolation, family–work interference, equipment/facilities and skill variety) on employee outcomes (satisfaction, burnout, productivity and turnover intention). Additionally, a multi-group analysis is used to explore group differences in the factors influencing satisfaction, burnout, productivity and turnover intention between employees in Germany and the USA.

Findings

The results reveal that significant determinants of productivity and turnover intention include isolation, family–work interference, equipment/facilities and skill variety. Isolation and equipment/facilities are identified as the most important demands and resources of the home workplace. Some significant differences are found between Germany and the USA. The positive effect of isolation on burnout is significantly stronger in the USA than in Germany, whereas the positive effect of family–work inference on burnout is stronger in Germany than in the USA. The negative effects visible for the relations between burnout and satisfaction, and satisfaction and turnover intention are stronger in Germany than in the USA. The positive effect of burnout on turnover intention is stronger in the USA compared to Germany.

Originality/value

The study adds empirical evidence to the JD-R theory by analysing the influence of the home workplace characteristics on employee outcomes in different countries for the first time using a multi-group analysis. In addition, the study reveals new insights into the differences between the knowledge workforces in Germany and the USA by uncovering how key factors influence employee outcomes such as productivity and turnover intention, partially carried by varying length of experience in work from home between both of these countries. Insights from this study can support corporate real estate managers to make better decisions on the design of employees’ home workplaces and the integration of work from home into the company’s workspace concept.

Details

Journal of Corporate Real Estate , vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1463-001X

Keywords

1 – 10 of over 128000