Telework, Productivity and Wellbeing: An Australian Perspective
Telework, Productivity and Wellbeing: An Australian Perspective
Telework, Productivity and Wellbeing: An Australian Perspective
Rachelle Bosua
Department of Computing and Information Systems,
The University of Melbourne
Marianne Gloet
Department of Management and Marketing,
The University of Melbourne
Sherah Kurnia
Department of Computing and Information Systems,
The University of Melbourne
Antonette Mendoza
Department of Computing and Information Systems,
The University of Melbourne
Jongsay Yong
Melbourne Institute for Applied Economics and Social Research,
The University of Melbourne
Introduction
Recent developments in networking and collaborative tools such as Web 2.0 and mobile
devices are rapidly changing traditional workplaces around the globe (Bayrak 2012). For
example, work can now be conducted from anywhere without the need for face-to-face
communication. Telework, or ‘telecommuting’, is defined as
“…a flexible work arrangement whereby people work in locations, remote
from their central offices with no personal contact with co-workers, but the
ability to communicate with co-workers using ICT” (Di Martino and Wirth
1990).
This flexible mode of working has been around for a long time, yet has only recently become
a new and attractive way of conducting work due to recent developments in mobile and
handheld devices.
A 2009 forecast indicates that the existing 43 million teleworkers in the USA may increase to
encompass 43% of the US workforce by 2016 (Shadler 2009). There are currently no recent
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the potential to improve job satisfaction, morale, flexibility, and family/work life balance
(Baker et al. 2007; Hartig et al. 2007).
Although there are numerous studies on telework, there is a noticeable gap in the academic
research that explores the impact of telework on productivity and wellbeing from both a
management and employee perspective, especially in the Australian context. In order to gain a
better understanding of productivity and wellbeing with respect to telework, the main research
question underpinning this study was 'How does telework impact on an individual's
productivity and wellbeing?' More specifically, the study sought to investigate whether the
ability to telework fosters an individual’s wellbeing, which in turn increases an individual’s
productivity. Additionally, if telework can enable a more productive workforce with a better
sense of wellbeing, how can Australian organisations empower this approach to drive changes
in their workplaces?
In answering these research questions, we briefly describe the research methodology and
findings in the following sections.
Research methodology
We were interested in gaining a deeper understanding of people’s perceptions, views and
telework practices, and the impact of telework on productivity and wellbeing. Therefore, an
exploratory research method with a predominantly qualitative nature was followed,
complemented by quantitative data in the form of daily experience data logs. We interviewed
28 participants, (25 hybrid teleworkers and three non-teleworkers) across six Australian
organisations from the education and government sectors as well as private enterprise.
Participants were based in various locations, including Greater Melbourne, Sydney,
Newcastle, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide and Dubbo, and were carefully chosen based on their
hybrid mode of telework (i.e., working at least two days from home each week). We were
interested in both management and worker perspectives of telework and recruited teams of
workers in order to gain insights on their experiences of telework. Three non-teleworkers
were also invited to share their views on productivity and wellbeing as a method of
comparison between teleworking and non-teleworking employees. Participation in this study
was voluntary.
Table 1 summarises case study details across the various industry types. Data collection
involved two phases. In Phase One, participants were interviewed wherever they worked,
through face-to-face or video-call interviews. Interview questions focused on their
perceptions of productivity and wellbeing while teleworking as opposed to non-teleworking.
Phase Two followed the interviews and required each participant to log his/her daily
experiences of telework and non-telework on four consecutive days in a week of their choice.
For this purpose we developed a website so that participants could log their actual work
experiences across four consecutive work days.
Figure 1 - Example screen from the daily experience data log website
Research results
We discuss our findings using three key themes that emerged from the data analysis.
Across all cases it was evident that productivity was closely linked to the availability and use
of adequate technology to enable and support telework. Basic collaboration and networking
tools, mobile devices, access to content, workspaces, individual desktops and a supportive
network infrastructure are required to achieve productive outcomes. Based on varying levels
of IT support for telework across our cases, we classified IT support for telework as being
high-level, medium-level or low-level as outlined in Table 2. Participants from organisations
with high-level IT support indicated they could work seamlessly from anywhere, and were
perceived as being more productive than those from organisations with medium or low levels
of IT support. A Project Manager from NetworkCo stated:
“With [NetworkCo] being a technology company they give you everything, all
the tools and technology you need to do your job well”.
Another manager from the same organisation confirmed this organisation was at the high-end
of the IT support spectrum for telework:
“We're at the higher end of the scale. We are provided with what's called a
virtual office environment. I have a router in my home, so my home office
effectively becomes an extension of [NetworkCo’s] environment. So there is no
difference in the environment between office and home, so technology is the
enabler” (Regional Sales Manager, NetworkCo).
Medium-level IT TestCo and Medium level networking and collaboration tools that
support EducoIT allow access to files and servers (e.g. audio/video tools)
Organisational support mobiles phones, limited collaboration between team
limited to ‘Bring Your members and limited use of handheld devices. Dial-up
Own Devices’ (BYOD) conferencing tools, medium speed internet connection,
with some tools provided and some Web-based tools.
by the organisation
Low-level IT support GovernCo and Limited networking and collaboration tools and devices.
EduCo Low speed internet connection to access files on servers,
Limited to no
web-based email, less sophisticated mobile phones, and
organisational support to
landlines
provide tools and devices
for telework
Table 2: Types of IT support and tools that enable and support productive telework
Participants from one of the medium-level IT support organisations indicated that virtual
collaboration technologies (such as Skype and videoconferencing) could enhance their
telework experience and improve productivity. This organisation provided only email and
remote server access to support telework, requiring individuals to use their personal mobile
phones for telework. One participant indicated how this impacted on her productivity:
“I think that better technology could improve it [telework]. I know there are
some companies that use Skype or other technologies, and that might be useful.
You find sometimes you might be emailing someone with a question and you're
waiting on a response and it's taking a bit of time.”(Tester, TestCo).
Another participant confirmed the need for collaborative meeting tools to enhance the quality
of meetings for the testing team:
“... we need something more, definitely Skype or video conferencing. Video
conferencing would be fantastic.”(Tester, TestCo).
Teleworkers from organisations with limited networking and collaborative tools and devices,
and low speed internet access indicated that this had a negative impact on their productivity:
“The problem is logging into the [organisation’s] system, it's slow …. I take a
USB home the night before teleworking with all the big files on them so I don’t
constantly download from our server during the day. I try not to have to do the
remote login because it takes forever to download files”. (Manager, EduCo)
Given that this study viewed productivity as a measure of how effectively and efficiently
assigned tasks are completed over time, and the attainment of measurable goals within time
and on budget, it would appear that teleworkers with high-level IT support were more
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productive than others with medium or low-level IT support. This may be due to the ability of
high levels of IT support to replicate the work environment as closely as possible, therefore
allowing a seamless transition between working in the office environment and working from
elsewhere.
Productivity did not appear to be a major concern for organisations that have developed a
telework culture and were at the high-level end of IT support for telework (NetworkCo and
InfraStrucCo). Two participants from these organisations commented positively on
productivity:
“I think I am a lot more productive when I telework, I can remove myself from
distractions, I can focus on my work, I can disappear from people quite easily.
When I’m in the office, yes I can turn down my phone, put ‘do not disturb' on
the door but people can still see I’m there, they can still knock on my door and
interrupt me.” (Strategic Solutions Director, InfraStrucCo) and
“What I’ve found with telework is that it gives you space in a different
environment, whether it be at home, whether it be the coffee shop, or just in the
office wherever you can just find some space to make sure you have a plan of
attack for the day, week, month, year and make sure you’re tracking to it.”
(Project Manager, NetworkCo).
Even participants from the medium to low-level IT support organisations felt that they were
more productive when working from home:
“I’m more productive when I work from home. In my job I tend to get
interrupted all the time - sometimes it’s important, sometimes not. But when I
am here, people come to me all the time. It's a very rare day when I set myself
five things to get done that they will get done.” (Senior Systems Administrator,
EducoIT) and
“I am much better working from home...I work in an open plan office and I
work much better in a secluded environment. I can concentrate deeply here
[from home when teleworking], I can’t do that at work.” (Project Manager,
GovernCo).
Daily experience data logs of these teams confirmed that participants felt they were more
productive on telework days as opposed to non-telework days. An analysis of data logs
indicates that participants completed more planned tasks on telework days as opposed to non-
telework days. Data logs from the TestCo team indicated that frequent interruptions impacted
on productivity across the team on non-teleworking days. Work-related interruptions on non-
telework days were as long as 3 hours, whereas minimal or no work-related interruptions
were logged on telework days for this team. Without exception, all participants agreed that
socialising at work, while useful and often a necessary distraction in the office environment,
meant that they were less productive on non-telework days.
Participants’ comments in terms of productivity on telework days across the participating
organisations were positive and included comments such as the following:
“...very productive today as I completed my tasks with little interruptions or
software issues....working from home meant less interruptions from
colleagues” and “I was able to get though a large amount of processing with
no disruptions” (TestCo participants).
Participants from the TestCo team rated their own productivity higher on telework days as
opposed to non-telework days. Following the completion of the daily experience data logs,
and without revealing specific details submitted in the daily logs, a short telephone meeting
was conducted with the team manager to gauge the manager's perception of individual and
team productivity during that period. Her response about the team’s overall performance
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“Managers need to brush up on their skills to manage distributed teams –
managers need to be able to manage, measure and reward remote employees
more effectively”.
In summary, findings suggest that telework requires a different management approach where
frequent meetings, clear milestones and task deadlines are essential. Also, trust and a self-
driven attitude are important aspects to foster a productive working environment (from both
the manager and employee perspectives).
Conclusion
Australian industries have not yet fully embraced the advantages offered by teleworking.
Given the ongoing rollout of the National Broadband Network, Australia has the potential to
considerably grow its capacity for telework opportunities. We expect that managers are not
yet convinced that teleworkers can be productive when working from anywhere. Our study
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indicates that workers can be as productive or even more productive when they telework,
particularly if they have a supportive IT infrastructure and environment that enables telework.
Moreover, the ability to telework fosters individual wellbeing, which in turn yields greater
productivity. It is clear that traditional office-based work is often less relevant or perhaps even
unnecessary in an increasingly fluid and mobile world. In this regard, Australian managers
face many challenges in managing a new generation of teleworkers who may be working
from anywhere. Further research should consider the attributes required of both managers and
workers in telework environments, as well as the strategies required to manage teleworkers
successfully. Additionally more studies are required to get a more comprehensive and
inclusive way of measuring individual and team productivity that incorporates wellbeing.
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Cite this article as: Bosua, Rachelle; Gloet, Marianne; Kurnia, Sherah; Mendoza,
Antonette; Yong, Jongsay. 2013. ‘Telework, productivity and wellbeing: An Australian
perspective’. Telecommunications Journal of Australia 63 (1): 11.1-11.12. Available
from: http://tja.org.au.
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