Telecommuting In this virtual world, what is holding it back Skye Whiteman and Geoffrey Dick Univers

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Telecommuting In this virtual world, what is
holding it back ?Skye Whiteman and Geoffrey
DickUniversity of New South Wales
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Where are we ?

• Advantages well known
• Problems well known
• Less emphasis on productivity
• Technology continuing to advance
• Adoption rates slow
• Management not particularly enthusiastic

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What concerns management ?

• Supervision issues
• Value for money
• How do I know they are working?
• Holding up the workflow
• Versus the right to privacy
• Data security
• Asset security

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Trust

• A substitute for supervision ?
• Adds an extra degree of complexity to the
  approval process
• Some staff will consider themselves disadvantaged
• Trust
• To work
• Not be opportunistic
• Look after assets

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Security

• Reliance on technology (or not)
• Trust of the employee to act appropriately
• Protection of both
• Data
• Physical assets
• Added risk of working off-site
• Legal and use issues

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Privacy

• Surveillance
• Monitoring
• Break down of home-work barriers
• Right to enter an employees home
• Related to lack of line of sight supervision
  issues

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Desire to telecommute
Barriers Trust Security Privacy
Approval
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A little about the study

• Survey based
• Australian knowledge workers
• Large technology driven organisation
• Survey piloted, validated and administered
• 69 response rate (n86)

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Results

• An inter-relationship between the three
  constructs
• Between them, a significant impediment to
  telecommuting (R2 .38)
• Note limitations small sample, one
  organisation..

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What to do about it ?Ordo we care ?

• Wait for technology ?
• Limit telecommuting to the long-serving ?
• Focus on
• Performance based management
• Benefits of telecommuting to the supervisor
• ???