The (not so simple) case for teleworking: a study at Lloyd's of London

This paper reports the results of a detailed case study and analysis of a substantial teleworking experiment. The study used rigorous quantitative techniques supported by qualitative methods to examine the business case for teleworking. The research provides evidence that supports some findings of other well-grounded research and questions others.     

Job seekers' perceptions of teleworking: A cognitive mapping approach

The research reported here examines the claim that the concept of teleworking will attract well qualified individuals to join an organisation. A cognitive mapping technique was used to determine the extent to which negative perceptions were associated with teleworking. The findings have implications for the design and promotion of teleworking.     

The psychological impact of teleworking: stress, emotions and health

The paper examines the psychological impact of teleworking compared to office-based work. Results suggest a negative emotional impact of teleworking, particularly in terms of such emotions as loneliness, irritability, worry and guilt, and that teleworkers experience significantly more mental health symptoms of stress than office-workers and slightly more physical health symptoms.     

Social support in the workplace between teleworkers,office‐based colleagues and supervisors

This paper draws upon the findings of qualitative interviews carried out with teleworkers, their office‐based colleagues and supervisory staff of a teleworking initiative introduced by a UK public sector local authority to explore workplace social support relationships. Our study found differences between office‐based and permanent teleworking staff in terms of social support. For teleworkers relationships at work are complex, with social support networks being established prior to working at home. By working from home, teleworkers were able to develop greater social support relationships with some colleagues, predominantly other teleworkers, while at the same time allowing them to distance themselves from negative work relationships. Overall, a social disconnection developed between teleworkers and office‐based staff. In contrast social support was more important for office‐based workers, who valued co‐worker relationships with other office‐based staff.     

The half‐empty office: dilemmas in managing locational flexibility

Through a case study contrasting the impacts of formalised and informal teleworking practices on office‐based workers, multidimensional dilemmas between flexibility, control and equity are uncovered. Formal schemes, although problematic and rare, possess some advantages in resolving the three dimensions. A model is proposed to test findings further.     

Teleworking practice in small and medium-sized firms: management style and worker autonomy

In an empirical study of teleworking practices in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in west London, organisational factors such as management attitudes, worker autonomy and employment flexibility were found to be more critical than technological provision in facilitating successful implementation. Consequently, we argue that telework in most SMEs appears as a marginal activity performed mainly by managers and specialist mobile workers.     

‘I could be dead for two weeks and my boss would never know’: telework and the politics of representation

This article presents data from a qualitative study of teleworking consultants in a European firm. We examine the ‘gap’ between the utopian visions produced by the consultants for the benefit of clients and the tales of isolation, disconnection, disaffection and cynicism we observed when clients were not present. The study highlights the power and politics involved in the diffusion of popular images of technology‐enabled flexibility.     

工作—家庭平衡的企业制度安排

工作已经通过网络渗入家庭,员工面临严重的工作—家庭冲突,影响组织绩效和生活质量。工作—家庭平衡作为企业家庭伦理理论的核心问题已成为制度设计的中心问题。对工作—家庭平衡制度安排的理论与实证研究发现,工作—家庭平衡还没有成为政府、企业和员工的共享信念,制度设计失去社会价值观基础;弹性工作制是有效的正式企业制度;家庭照顾福利是无效的正式企业制度;经理须持之以恒支持员工平衡工作—家庭需要、控制因享用工作—家庭平衡福利而带来的负面职业生涯后果。两者是有效的非正式制度安排。据此提出的政策建议是:政府要在全社会倡导、培育以工作—家庭平衡为核心的企业家庭伦理管理哲学、提供家庭照顾福利作为公共制度供给;企业进行系统的组织文化改造;员工培育照顾家庭的应得权利感。     

The character of telework and the characteristics of teleworkers

A flexible definition of teleworking suggests that it is more widespread than is generally believed. However, is telework technologically driven? This is tested with data from six countries. As the categories of the definition have distinctive social characteristics, telework seems to reflect traditional occupational practices rather than a major technological shift.     

Good to be home? Time‐use and satisfaction levels among home‐based teleworkers

Home‐based teleworking (HbTW) has the potential to provide significant benefits to both employer and employee, but also presents considerable challenges. This paper considers HbTW among UK employees, specifically exploring distinctions in the time‐use of men and women home‐based teleworkers and the impacts of HbTW on employee satisfaction levels, using cross‐section fixed effects panel regression analysis of the British Household Panel Survey. Findings reveal that total time‐use in work activities among men and women home‐based teleworkers is relatively comparable, but the distribution significantly different. For women, housework represents a particular time constraint, reflecting continued presence of the ‘double‐shift’. Homeworkers report greater levels of satisfaction, yet they are more pronounced in respect to paid work than leisure time. Extensive hours of housework reported among women may explain these differences. Nevertheless, home‐based teleworkers report greater levels of satisfaction than other workers, suggesting considerable benefits especially for working mothers.     

Managing work–life boundaries with information and communication technologies: the case of independent contractors

In the light of the increasing use of information and communication technologies (ICTs), it is important to gain a better understanding of their influence on work–life boundaries. This study examines how individuals manage their work–life boundaries by using ICTs. The findings of a qualitative study with independent contractors show that individuals actively use multiple ICT‐mediated tactics to shape their temporal, spatial and psychological work–life boundaries. Furthermore, findings suggest that individuals cannot simply be classified as ‘integrators’ or ‘segmentors’, as they may have diverse preferences with regard to both the dimension (temporal, spatial or psychological) and direction (work‐to‐life or life‐to‐work) of boundary permeability. A framework that takes account of these aspects is derived based on the empirical results.     

产业集群演化与生命周期研究述评

在过去的几十年间,产业集群问题引起各国学者的广泛关注,他们从各自的范式出发,对产业集群的演化问题进行了研究。随着产业集群在全球范围内的发展与演化,各国学者开始对产业集群演化的周期性问题进行研究,文章对国外、国内产业集群生命周期的研究进行梳理和评价,并提出了产业集群生命周期有待深入研究的问题。     

煤矿工人人因失误理论分析及对策研究

基于认知心理学和人因工程学理论系统,分析了生活事件导致煤矿工人人因失误的过程,并构建生活事件视角下煤矿工人人因失误理论模型。研究表明:生活事件是导致煤矿工人人因失误的客观因素,认知评价和应对是导致人因失误的主观因素,压力反应是导致人因失误的直接原因。并根据煤矿工人人因失误产生过程提出了人因失误防控的重点和防控对策。     

Rehearsal of professional practice: impacts of web-based collaborative learning on the future encounter of different disciplines

This study argues that the shift towards a more multidisciplinary professional life in contemporary design practice requires design curricula to equip students with collaborative skills. The study offers that by the aid of web-based collaborative learning (WBCL) in design education, different disciplines may be brought together during their education. A case study is held as a rehearsal of professional life; involving architecture and interior architecture students collaborating on a common project, using WBCL. The evaluations of the participating students about the process were analyzed. The findings convey that there is a mutual problem of recognition of professional domains. In order to diagnose and possibly reconcile tensions that may occur due to this problem in professional life, this paper asserts that integrating interdisciplinary work to the design curricula would be beneficial.     

Real Estate Investment Acquisition Rules for Life Insurance Companies and Pension Funds: A Survey

Real estate comprises the major wealth of the United States as well as the world. Life insurance companies and pension funds are rapidly becoming major investors in real estate due to their large portfolios and annual cash inflows. Aggregate inflows of life insurance companies and pension funds are estimated to be about 150 billion dollars per year. Increasing amounts of these funds are believed to be going into real estate investments. This study surveys life insurance companies and pension managers on all facets of their real estate investments. The survey covers real estate portfolio size and type, portfolio composition, investment by property type, international investments, before-tax analysis, after-tax analysis, diversification strategies, computer usage, holding period assumptions and criteria for obtaining mortgages, equity positions and construction loans. The results of this study are then compared and contrasted with previous studies.     

Access to and Utilization of Flexible Work Options

Many workers do not utilize the flexible work options to which they have access nor do they necessarily have access to all options officially provided by their organizations. This study sheds light on these gaps using probit models with sample selection to predict access to and utilization of fourteen flexible options. The findings highlight the roles of supervisor support, occupation, and work‐life culture. The influence of each of these factors on access and utilization differs.     

High performance work systems and workplace partnership: a case study of aerospace workers

This article provides case study analysis of the impact of high performance work practices and workplace partnership on skilled workers in the UK's aerospace industry. In contrast to assumptions that such practices increase empowerment and participation we find evidence of a democratic deficit in workplace decision-making and deterioration in the quality of working life.     

Innovative clusters and the industry life cycle

The purpose of this paper is to link the propensity for innovative activity to spatially cluster to the stage of the industry life cycle. The theory of knowledge spillovers, based on the knowledge production function for innovative activity, suggests that geographic proximity matters the most where tacit knowledge plays an important role in the generation of innovative activity. According to the emerging literature of the industry life cycle, tacit knowledge plays the most important role during the early stages of the industry life cycle. Based on a data base that identifies innovative activity for individual states and specific industries for the United States, the empirical evidence suggests that the propensity for innovative activity is shaped by the stage of the industry life cycle. While the generation of new economic knowledge tends to result in a greater propensity for innovative activity to cluster during the early stages of the industry life cycle, innovative activity tends to be more highly dispersed during the mature and declining stages of the life cycle, particularly after controlling for the extent to which the location of production is geographically concentrated. This may suggest that the positive agglomeration effects during the early stages of the industry life cycle become replaced by congestion effects during the latter stages of the industry life cycle.     

Value creation in the relationship life cycle: A quasi-longitudinal analysis

Among the growing literature on value creation in collaborative buyer-seller relationships, most researchers examine relationship value at a single point in time. In the present research, we explore whether different stages of the relationship life cycle moderate the relative importance of value-creating dimensions. To shed light on the dynamic nature of value in B2B relationships, we present the results of a survey among purchasing managers using a quasi-longitudinal research design. Our findings confirm the moderating role of the relationship life cycle in value creation. More precisely, our results indicate that a key supplier's potential for value creation in customer's operations increases in relative importance as relationships move through the life cycle. In turn, supplier's capabilities to create superior value at the level of the customer's sourcing process display a decreasing role over the life cycle of a business relationship. No significant link was found in the present study between value creation through a supplier's core offering and different stages of a buyer-seller relationship.