Is Teleworking for Millennials?

The telework option has been noted by researchers as a way to save costs and increase productivity for organizations; allow flexibility, savings, and relieve stress for employees; and be environmentally friendly for society. While research has examined generational attitudes regarding work, there are limited studies on the expectations of this newest workforce, the Millennials (born 19811999), and even fewer concerning their attitudes towards teleworking. This study looks at the Millennials’ attitudes toward autonomy, work/life balance, perceived computer competence and its relationship with telework preference. Using a survey instrument, a sample of Millennials and non-Millennials (GenXers, Baby Boomers and Traditionalists) were scrutinized to determine their preferences by group. A sample of 263 university students, faculty and staff represented 195 Millennials and 68 non-Millennials. Partial support was found for the effect of autonomy and work/life balance toward the preference to telework. Based on our results, Millennials do not seem to prefer teleworking. However, our analysis of differences between males and females depicted greater interest in males.