Study looks at turnover among non-teleworkers
Telecommuting has been linked to turnover among non-teleworkers in a study by a professor at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY.
The prevalence of telecommuters in an office can adversely impact co-workers who do not telecommute, in terms of job satisfaction and likelihood they will leave the company.
“While reasons for the adverse impact on non-teleworker’s satisfaction are varied, it potentially could be due to co-workers’ perceptions they have decreased flexibility and a higher workload, and the ensuring greater frustration that comes with co-ordinating in an environment with more extensive co-worker telework,” says Timothy Golden, associate professor at the Lally School of Management and Technology at Rensselaer, who studied a sample of 240 employees from a medium-sized company.
“In addition, it may be that with a greater prevalence of teleworkers in a work unit, non-teleworkers may find it less personally fulfilling to conduct their work due to the increased obstacles to building and maintaining effective and rewarding co-worker relationships.”
As a result, employers should take into account the broader impact of telework on others in the office, particularly in a team-based environment, and be cautious about implementing or expanding this work mode, says Golden.
About 37 per cent of U.S.-based and foreign companies offer flexible work arrangements and the programs are growing at 11 per cent per year, according to a report by the Society of Human Resource Management in Alexandria, Va.
