Telework in the Context of E-Collaboration

Today, everyone recognizes that we live in the so-called knowledge society. In this society, new possibilities based on and around IT and the Internet arise for human beings. IT technology has also made the organizations where they work change rapidly as well as the wider general business environment. The development of the Internet in the early 1990s was both the catalyst and an example of this phenomenon. This computer network allowed the development of social networks, or virtual communities of people who use these networks to communicate and to collaborate. We shall concentrate on the specific changes that have taken place in the workplace because of the introduction and increased usage of IT. Since the 1970s, a decade in which we can place the beginning of the study of telework or telecommuting (Nilles, 1975), the professional literature has given some insights about the explosion in the number of teleworkers that was going to take place in the next decade. As an example, we can mention the predictions of AT&T in the 1970s. As later with the Internet bubble, nothing happens, the forecasts were not good enough, and the statistics show now the reality is different to the initial predictions: It is difficult to speak about the “real telework.” On the other hand, there are some instances, (i.e., in Europe the European Commission), and from some industry e-work and e-collaboration practices, more and more people are starting to speak about a broader concept, especially in the last two years. On this issue, they refer to the situation in which some people have to cooperate, using IT to realize a specific task. However, is e-work (or telework) and e-collaboration the same? To answer this, we have to review historical developments, definitions, clarifications, and analysis of the main reasons of why telework is not yet wide spread or why it can be confused with e-collaboration. Historical Perspective of telework