Viability and Sustainability of TeleWorkCentres

― The desire for something that does not exist yet―

Dr. Albert BenschopUniversity of Amsterdam

17.2.2005

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Most men and women telework at home: 6 out of 10 teleworkers work at home. Less popular are the office of customers, mobile working and the satellite office. Few teleworkers make use of a telecentre or another teleworking-location. On average more men than women work in satellite offices

Types of Telework: location

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

Home

Office customer

Mobile work

Satellite office

Telecentre (BE + IT including next)

Internetcafé / Public location

%NL %BE %IT

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Desired form of telework by non-teleworkers

For non-teleworkers the telework-type par excellence is homeworking: 83 – 96% Majority would not refuse the offer to start working in a satellite office: 52 – 57% Already 1 out of 3 of the non-teleworkers is prepared to work in a telecentre: 32 -53%

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Home

Satellite office

Mobile work

Telecentre

%NL %BE %IT

Teleworking location considered by non-teleworkers (multiple answers possible)

In NL no significant differences between men and women. Mobile working is controversial.In BE men are significantly more in favour of mobile working (52%) than female non-teleworkers (37%).The opposite is true for telecentres: 24% men – 40% women.

4Desired combination of telework forms

Massive preference for combination (main) office and home. Combinations with a satellite office are an option for more than 1 out of 2 non-teleworkers. Much less preference for some combination with telecentre. But none the less: about 1/3 of non-teleworkers considers a combination with telecentres.

No significant differences between men and women for certain combinations.

If people were to choose their work location freely, 1 out of 2 chooses for the combination of (main)office and telehomework..

Combinations of work locations considered by non-teleworkers (multiple answers possible)

0 20 40 60 80 100

Home + (main)office

Satellite office + (main)office

Satellite office & home

Telecentre + (main)office

Telecentre + home

%NL %BE %IT

There’s a breeding ground for teleworkcentres

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1. Telework has many important advantages that improve the balance between work and private life: Plan timetable freely Less time commuting More time to look after people needing care Easier to make private appointments More convenient circumstances for domestic care / family Increases quality of life Offers men possibility to do more domestic chores Enhanches combination private and professional life Positive effect on health

All these advantages score more than 80%2. But not everyone agrees that telework leads to more spare time, or makes it

easier for women to take up domestic chores.

3. Greatest risk connected with telehomework: The division between private life and professional life grows dim (85%NL)

4. Here no significant differences between men and women, nor between the experiences of teleworkers and the feelings of non-teleworkers.

Balance work and private life

6Problems with telehomework

We have seen that 2/3 of the teleworkers work at home.Which problems occur?

What are the main distracting factors?

1. Separate homework-office A small majority of the telehomeworkers do not have a separate

homework-office (be: 56%; italy: 52; nl: 51%). Not related to family situation, although the Belgium results show a

significant relationship between having a separate office and having children.

2. Additional costs of homework-office To organize and use one’s home-office, teleworkers are faced with

expenses for furniture, electricity, heating etc. Who pays these additional costs?

More than 1 out of 2 homeworkers made additional costs to prepare their home-office.

Only a minority had the company refund the expenses or divided the costs.

7Problems with telehomework

8 out of 10 homeworkers without small children (but with children) are able to work undisturbed, in comparison to only 1 out of 5 of the homeworkers with toddlers

3. Working undisturbed 8 out of 10 homeworkers (be: 81%; nl:78%) are able to work undisturbed.

A separate homework-office has a beneficial effect on disturbance.

No significant differences between men and women.

Significant differences between people with and without children: children appear to be an important factor of disturbance and toddlers are a very important element of disturbance.

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4. Elements of disturbance 2 out of 10 telehomeworkers are not able to work undisturbed.

And with toddlers: 8 out of 10.

Problems with telehomework

Main elements of disturbance are family members (esp. children), no clear division between private and professional life and lack of a separate office. Street noise, sound insulation and odour nuisance are of lesser importance.

Italian homeworkers have special problems with street noise. Dutch teleworkers cherish their privacy.

Who or what are the most important elements of hindrance?

0 10 20 30 40 50

Family members disturbing all the time

Private & professional life intertwine too much

No separate homework-office

Other reasons

Poor sound insulation inside

Street noise

Pollution/odour nuisance

% NL % BE % IT

9Problems with telehomework

5. Planning of homeworking day

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40

I do odd jobs or domestic chores in between

I gear my working hours to the needs of my family/inmates

During my break I sometimes run errands

I quit working later

I start working later

I stick to the timetable of my office

I start working earlier

I quit working earlier

I take my children to school and pick them up again

Other factors

% NL % BE % IT

Family life in Italy?

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Concept of Teleworkcentre

1. Telecentre as most innovative contemporary telework-type.2. Telecentre reduces commuting, improves accessibility of

available jobs in an area and simplifies the return to work, especially for women.

3. Telecentres can stimulate the efficient organization of the job-family combination by offering employees extra services.

4. Telecentres increase social interaction between teleworkers and between these employees and the local community.

5. Telecentres create interaction with local organizations & businesses.

There’s a graveyard of failed teleworkcentres.

How sustainable can telecentres be?

11TeleWorkCentre

Familiarity: ever heard of teleworkcentres?A large minority (nl: 46%; it: 35%) of the employees have heard of a telecentre before. In Flanders 7 out of 10 employees are familiar with the term.

Which infrastructures and facilities are desired in a telecentre?

a. Mobility facilities Almost every employee is in favour of a parking lot in the telecentre (nl: 93%; be: 97;

it:98%) and public transport to the centre (nl:99%; be:96% it: 92%). A car from the telecentre is not a high priority, but many employees would like to see

some kind of transportation service. b. Training facilities

Employees fancy individual and group training. Individual training appreciated by almost 80% of the respondents (and 90% in Italy), Group training is desired by 70% (and 90% in Italy).

c. General facilities Canteen is a bare necessity of a telecentre for 9 out of 10 employees Day-care facility makes telecentre attractive for 7 out of 10 employees (91% in Italy). Majority would like to be able to shop, do some sports and go to a museum or theatre

after finishing work in the telecentre. A shopping service is not a must (especially not in the Netherlands) and a dry-cleaning

service does not belong in a telecentre according to most employees (exception is Flanders, with 70% pro).

Teleworkers and non-teleworkers think the same

about this

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a. Familiarity with telecentre?Employers are slightly more familiar with the concept of teleworkcentre: 60% NL; 61% IT

b. Conditions for working in telecentre

Majority of employers is prepared to offer their employees to work in a telecentre: 60% in Belgium, more than 70% in NL, and 90% in Italy.They attach certain conditions to their readiness to introduce working in a telecentre. Guarantee of a professional working environment (33 % NL; 11% IT) Safeguard for confidential and personal information ( 9% BE; 17% NL) Working in a telecentre is separated from the wage agreement (15% BE; 11% NL;

21% IT) Costs for rent of a workplace in a telecentre should be equal to or lower than the costs

of a homework-office (18% BE; 11.2% NL; 32% IT)

c. Percentage average earnings for rent telecentre Employers would spend on average 2.5% of the wage to make working in a telecentre

possible. 50% is not prepared to pay anything at all. 50% is prepared to pay 10% or less.

Small number of respondents (except in Belgium), so caution is called for.

Employers and TeleWorkCentres

13Employers and telework

General conditions to telework?Most employers attach conditions to telework: specific position: teleworkability teleworker has to fit a personality profile minimum level of position within company seniority: years of employment

1 out of 5 employers only allows employees to telework when they have been employed 3-5 years or more than 5 years

Most companies are familiar with working at home.

1 out of 4 organizations has employees working mobile or at clients. Working in a satellite office or telecentre is less popular.

Teleworktypes implemented and extended in Dutch companies

80,0

45,5

44,4

33,3

27,3

11,1

13,3

18,2

11,1

4,8

27,3

11,3

0 20 40 60 80 100

Telehomework

Mobile work

At clients premises

Elsewhere

Satellite office

Telecentre

Implemented Extended

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Employers and telework

41,1

23,8

14,9

13,3

6,5

50,0

19,0

9,5

1,9

9,6

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

Telehomework

At clients premises

Satellite office

Mobile work

Elsewhere

Implemented Extended

Teleworktypes implemented en extended in Belgium companies

15Discussion

1. For whom is telehomework a good solution and for whom and when not?Restrictions or risks of telehomework: no personal workplace; disturbing factors; dimming of division between private and professional life.Advantages of working in local telecentres.Special advantages for women (and parents) with children.

2. How strong is the need for local telecentres – teledocks?Desire for something that doesn’t exist yet .....Who wants to work in a telecentre? And how many?

3. What should be done to build local ‘teledocks’?Who should take the initiative: private persons, government or together?Can teledocks support themselves? How can they be made sustainable?

4. Which facilities should teledocks offer?General, mobility and training facilities

5. Role of unions, employers (organizations) and management?Allowing and/or stimulating working in local telecentres

6. Which measures should or could authorities take?Cancelling privileges of telehomeworkFacilitating infrastructure for teledocks by local authoritiesNational and European policy

Not the daily trip to work,

Not the distraction from home

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TeleDock