Workers' propensity to telecommute: An empirical study

Today's telecommuting workforce encompasses all categories of workers including managers, professionals and other knowledge workers. While organizations have the choice of mandating telecommuting or offering it as an option, individuals also have the choice of participating or not when telecommuting is optional. This research investigated whether individual factors, such as age, skills, identi®cation with organization, or job category in ̄uenced these individuals' decisions to telecommute or not. A survey of telecommuters and non-telecommuters was conducted in two large work groups working for a high technology organization. Job category and gender showed a signi®cant difference between telecommuters and nontelecommuters. Age, years with organization, and computer skills did not show signi®cant differences. Reasons provided by respondents for opting not to telecommute are discussed. In addition, a comparison of perceived productivity, performance, sense of personal control, and satisfaction between telecommuters and non-telecommuters was performed. Differences were found between telecommuters and non-telecommuters in their ratings of personal control and productivity. The paper concludes with suggestions for practitioners and recommendations for future research. # 1999 Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved