The good, the bad, and the unknown about telecommuting: meta-analysis of psychological mediators and individual consequences.

What are the positive and negative consequences of telecommuting? How do these consequences come about? When are these consequences more or less potent? The authors answer these questions through construction of a theoretical framework and meta-analysis of 46 studies in natural settings involving 12,883 employees. Telecommuting had small but mainly beneficial effects on proximal outcomes, such as perceived autonomy and (lower) work-family conflict. Importantly, telecommuting had no generally detrimental effects on the quality of workplace relationships. Telecommuting also had beneficial effects on more distal outcomes, such as job satisfaction, performance, turnover intent, and role stress. These beneficial consequences appeared to be at least partially mediated by perceived autonomy. Also, high-intensity telecommuting (more than 2.5 days a week) accentuated telecommuting's beneficial effects on work-family conflict but harmed relationships with coworkers. Results provide building blocks for a more complete theoretical and practical treatment of telecommuting.

[1]  Xiao-Hua Zhou,et al.  Statistical Methods for Meta‐Analysis , 2008 .

[2]  Zeki Simsek,et al.  Telecommuting's differential impact on work-family conflict: is there no place like home? , 2006, The Journal of applied psychology.

[3]  Timothy D. Golden,et al.  Avoiding depletion in virtual work: Telework and the intervening impact of work exhaustion on commitment and turnover intentions , 2006 .

[4]  Matthew Lombard,et al.  At the Heart of It All: The Concept of Presence , 2006 .

[5]  Julie B. Olson-Buchanan,et al.  Blurring boundaries: Correlates of integration and segmentation between work and nonwork , 2006 .

[6]  Timothy D. Golden,et al.  The role of relationships in understanding telecommuter satisfaction , 2006 .

[7]  Ellen Ernst Kossek,et al.  Telecommuting, Control, and Boundary Management: Correlates of Policy Use and Practice, Job Control, and Work-Family Effectiveness. , 2006 .

[8]  R. G. Cinamon.  Anticipated Work‐Family Conflict: Effects of Gender, Self‐Efficacy, and Family Background , 2006 .

[9]  Drew L. Harris,et al.  Organizational communication satisfaction in the virtual workplace , 2005 .

[10]  Susan Bryant.  Wired to the World, Chained to the Home: Telework in Daily Life , 2005 .

[11]  J. F. Veiga,et al.  The Impact of Extent of Telecommuting on Job Satisfaction: Resolving Inconsistent Findings , 2005 .

[12]  David A. Harrison,et al.  Input-based and time-based models of international adjustment: Meta-analytic evidence and theoretical extensions , 2005 .

[13]  Susan Halford,et al.  Hybrid Workspace: Re-Spatialisations of Work, Organisation and Management , 2005 .

[14]  Sumita Raghuram,et al.  Work-nonwork conflict and job stress among virtual workers , 2004 .

[15]  Kenneth Brownson,et al.  The Benefits of a Work-at-Home Program , 2004, The health care manager.

[16]  A. Cattell.  Remote Working: Linking People and Organizations , 2004 .

[17]  Suzy Siddons,et al.  Remote Working: Linking people and organizations , 2003 .

[18]  Kimberly D. Elsbach.  Relating Physical Environment to Self-Categorizations: Identity Threat and Affirmation in a Non-Territorial Office Space , 2003 .

[19]  Pamela J. Hinds,et al.  Out of Sight, Out of Sync: Understanding Conflict in Distributed Teams , 2003, Organ. Sci..

[20]  David G. Allen,et al.  The impact of telecommuting design on social systems, self-regulation, and role boundaries. , 2003 .

[21]  Sumita Raghuram,et al.  Technology Enabled Work: The Role of Self-Efficacy in Determining Telecommuter Adjustment and Structuring Behavior , 2003 .

[22]  Michael Workman,et al.  The Effects of Cognitive Style and Media Richness on Commitment to Telework and Virtual Teams , 2003 .

[23]  Maria Ferris,et al.  Does it matter where you work? A comparison of how three work venues (traditional office, virtual office, and home office) influence aspects of work and personal/family life , 2003 .

[24]  Joanne H. Pratt,et al.  Managing Teleworkers and Telecommuting Strategies , 2003 .

[25]  Birgitte Yttri,et al.  Impacts of Home-Based Telework on Quality of Life for Employees and Their Partners. Quantitative and Qualitative Results From a European Survey , 2003 .

[26]  Magid Igbaria,et al.  Does "Out of Sight" Mean "Out of Mind"? An Empirical Investigation of the Career Advancement Prospects of Telecommuters , 2003, Inf. Resour. Manag. J..

[27]  Susan R. Madsen.  The effects of home-based teleworking on work-family conflict , 2003 .

[28]  Guido Hertel,et al.  Quality of management by objectives, task-related stressors, and non-task-related stressors as predictors of stress and job satisfaction among teleworkers , 2003 .

[29]  R. Eisenberger,et al.  Perceived organizational support: a review of the literature. , 2002, The Journal of applied psychology.

[30]  Nancy B. Kurland,et al.  A review of telework research: findings, new directions, and lessons for the study of modern work , 2002 .

[31]  Nancy B. Kurland,et al.  Manager control and employee isolation in telecommuting environments , 2002 .

[32]  William K. Balzer,et al.  Development of a Compact Measure of Job Satisfaction: The Abridged Job Descriptive Index , 2002 .

[33]  C. Schriesheim,et al.  Assessing the construct validity of the job descriptive index: a review and meta-analysis. , 2002, The Journal of applied psychology.

[34]  Lars Qvortrup,et al.  FROM TELEWORKING TO NETWORKING : Definitions and trends , 2002 .

[35]  Mary A. Armstrong.  Wired to the World, Chained to the Home: Telework in Daily Life (review) , 2001 .

[36]  Bradley J. Alge,et al.  Effects of computer surveillance on perceptions of privacy and procedural justice. , 2001, The Journal of applied psychology.

[37]  Karen Pellegrini Diviney.  Antecedents and consequences of work restructuring. , 2001 .

[38]  Rosann Webb Collins,et al.  Technology Requirements and Work Group Communication for Telecommuters , 2001, Inf. Syst. Res..

[39]  Y. Baruch.  The status of research on teleworking and an agenda for future research , 2001 .

[40]  Vipin Gupta,et al.  Factors contributing to virtual work adjustment , 2001 .

[41]  Andres Sousa-Poza,et al.  Well-being at work: a cross-national analysis of the levels and determinants of job satisfaction , 2000 .

[42]  D. Harrison,et al.  CONNECTIONS BETWEEN LOWER BACK PAIN, INTERVENTIONS, AND ABSENCE FROM WORK: A TIME‐BASED META‐ANALYSIS , 2000 .

[43]  Blake E. Ashforth,et al.  All in a Day'S Work: Boundaries and Micro Role Transitions , 2000 .

[44]  N. Johnson,et al.  Telecommuting and Virtual Offices: Issues and Opportunities , 2000 .

[45]  Olivia R. Liu Sheng,et al.  Telework: Existing Research and Future Directions , 2000, J. Organ. Comput. Electron. Commer..

[46]  Olivia R. Liu Sheng,et al.  Understanding relationships among teleworkers' e-mail usage, e-mail richness perceptions, and e-mail productivity perceptions under a software engineering environment , 2000, IEEE Trans. Engineering Management.

[47]  T. Allen,et al.  Consequences associated with work-to-family conflict: a review and agenda for future research. , 2000, Journal of occupational health psychology.

[48]  David A. Harrison,et al.  Responses to Informal Accommodation Requests from Employees with Disabilites: Multistudy Evidence on Willingness to Comply , 2000 .

[49]  David A. Kevin Daniels,et al.  Managing Telework: Perspectives from Human Resource Management and Work Psychology , 2000 .

[50]  C. Erik Timmerman,et al.  Communication technology use and multiple workplace identifications among organizational teleworkers with varied degrees of virtuality , 1999 .

[51]  P Standen,et al.  The home as a workplace: work-family interaction and psychological well-being in telework. , 1999, Journal of occupational health psychology.

[52]  Julie A. Wright,et al.  Flexible and compressed workweek schedules: A meta-analysis of their effects on work-related criteria. , 1999 .

[53]  J. Reinsch,et al.  Selected Communication Variables and Telecommuting Participation Decisions: Data from Telecommuting Workers , 1999 .

[54]  Tor Guimaraes,et al.  Exploring Differences in Employee Turnover Intentions and Its Determinants Among Telecommuters and Non-Telecommuters , 1999, J. Manag. Inf. Syst..

[55]  Raghu Garud,et al.  Communication Patterns as Determinants of Organizational Identification in a Virtual Organization , 1999, J. Comput. Mediat. Commun..

[56]  C. Handy.  Trust and the virtual organization , 1999 .

[57]  Chockalingam Viswesvaran,et al.  The Role of Social Support in the Process of Work Stress: A Meta-Analysis , 1999 .

[58]  John R. Carlson,et al.  Channel Expansion Theory and the Experiential Nature of Media Richness Perceptions , 1999 .

[59]  Linda Duxbury,et al.  An empirical evaluation of the impacts of telecommuting on intra-organizational communication , 1999 .

[60]  Magid Igbaria,et al.  The work experiences of professional men and women who telecommute: convergence or divergence , 1998 .

[61]  Jane Webster,et al.  Family structure and the telecommuter's quality of life , 1998 .

[62]  E. Hill,et al.  Influences of The Virtual Office on Aspects of Work and Work/Life Balance , 1998 .

[63]  David A. Harrison,et al.  Time for Absenteeism: A 20-Year Review of Origins, Offshoots, and Outcomes , 1998 .

[64]  A. Sturgill.  Relationship of telecommuting to organizational communication: A preliminary study of group process and communication satisfaction. , 1998 .

[65]  A. M. th,et al.  The Alternative Workplace: Changing Where and How People Work. , 1998 .

[66]  E. Kossek,et al.  Work–family conflict, policies, and the job–life satisfaction relationship: A review and directions for organizational behavior–human resources research. , 1998 .

[67]  Sridhar Narasimhan,et al.  Communication and Coordination in the Virtual Office , 1998, J. Manag. Inf. Syst..

[68]  Magid Igbaria,et al.  A review of the empirical research on telecommuting and directions for future research , 1998 .

[69]  C. Higgins,et al.  Telework and the balance between work and family: is telework part of the problem or part of the solution? , 1998 .

[70]  Yehuda Baruch,et al.  Home, Sweet Work: Requirements for Effective Home Working , 1997 .

[71]  Daniel C. Feldman,et al.  Patterns of telecommuting and their consequences: Framing the research Agenda. , 1997 .

[72]  Acsw John T. Pardeck.  Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 , 1997 .

[73]  Melenie J. Lankau,et al.  Relationships of gender, family responsibility and flexible work hours to organizational commitment and job satisfaction , 1997 .

[74]  R. Herschel,et al.  Ethical Implications of Technological Advances on Business Communication , 1997 .

[75]  P. Bordia.  Face-to-Face Versus Computer-Mediated Communication: A Synthesis of the Experimental Literature , 1997 .

[76]  A. J. Hawkins,et al.  Work and family in the virtual office: Perceived influences of mobile telework. , 1996 .

[77]  Christena Nippert-Eng.  Home and Work: Negotiating Boundaries through Everyday Life , 1996 .

[78]  George M. Piskurich,et al.  Making telecommuting work , 1996 .

[79]  D. Ones,et al.  Theory testing: Combining psychometric meta-analysis and structural equations modeling , 1995 .

[80]  Catherine Kirchmeyer.  Managing the Work-Nonwork Boundary: An Assessment of Organizational Responses , 1995 .

[81]  D. Ganster,et al.  Impact of family-supportive work variables on work-family conflict and strain: A control perspective. , 1995 .

[82]  David W. Park,et al.  Interpersonal Effects in Computer-Mediated Interaction , 1994 .

[83]  R. Kraut.  Predicting the use of technology: the case of telework , 1994 .

[84]  Gwenn W. Gröndal,et al.  Meta-analytic procedures for social research , 1993 .

[85]  Nitin Nohria,et al.  Face-to-Face: Making Network Organizations Work , 1992 .

[86]  R. Rice.  Task Analyzability, Use of New Media, and Effectiveness: A Multi-Site Exploration of Media Richness , 1992 .

[87]  P. Meehl.  Factors and Taxa, Traits and Types, Differences of Degree and Differences in Kind , 1992 .

[88]  Charles R. Stoner,et al.  An investigation of selected variables affecting telecommuting productivity and satisfaction , 1991 .

[89]  John E. Hunter,et al.  Methods of Meta-Analysis: Correcting Error and Bias in Research Findings , 1991 .

[90]  Andrew J. DuBrin,et al.  Comparison of the Job Satisfaction and Productivity of Telecommuters versus in-House Employees: A Research Note on Work in Progress , 1991 .

[91]  J. K. Murnighan,et al.  The Development of an Intragroup Norm and the Effects of Interpersonal and Structural Challenges , 1991 .

[92]  K. Thomas,et al.  Cognitive Elements of Empowerment: An “Interpretive” Model of Intrinsic Task Motivation , 1990 .

[93]  Margrethe H. Olson,et al.  Work at home for computer professionals: current attitudes and future prospects , 1989, TOIS.

[94]  John P. Wanous,et al.  The role of judgment calls in meta-analysis. , 1989 .

[95]  J. Bernlef,et al.  Out of Mind , 1988 .

[96]  Gary P. Latham,et al.  Application of social learning theory to employee self-management of attendance , 1987 .

[97]  Paul E. Spector.  Perceived Control by Employees: A Meta-Analysis of Studies Concerning Autonomy and Participation at Work , 1986 .

[98]  Richard L. Daft,et al.  Organizational information requirements, media richness and structural design , 1986 .

[99]  Peter R. Monge,et al.  The Dynamics of Organizational Proximity , 1985 .

[100]  B. Shamir,et al.  Work-at-home and the quality of working life: some theoretical considerations , 1985 .

[101]  R. Noe,et al.  A Meta-Analysis of the Relation of Job Characteristics to Job Satisfaction , 1985 .

[102]  Reagan M. Ramsower,et al.  Telecommuting : an investigation of some organizational and behavioral effects of working at home , 1983 .

[103]  G. Lakoff,et al.  Metaphors We Live by , 1982 .

[104]  Jon L. Pierce,et al.  Toward A Conceptual Clarification Of Employee Responses To Flexible Working Hours: A Work Adjustment Approach , 1980 .

[105]  Robert Karasek,et al.  Job decision latitude and mental strain: Implications for job redesign , 1979 .

[106]  Richard,et al.  Motivation through the Design of Work: Test of a Theory. , 1976 .

[107]  H. Blalock.  Causal Inferences in Nonexperimental Research , 1966 .

[108]  Walter W. Powell,et al.  Networks and Organizations , 2006 .

[109]  A. Adam.  Whatever happened to information systems ethics? Caught between the devil and the deep blue sea , 2004 .

[110]  Sharon M. Schneider-Borowicz,et al.  The importance of trust: how managers and telecommuters use communication to maintain a trusting relationship , 2003 .

[111]  T. Horan.  Digital Connections Between Home , Work and Community : Multi-wave Research Findings and Policy Directions , 2003 .

[112]  Richard Griffiths.  Time management in telework and other autonomous work environments. , 2003 .

[113]  Pamela J. Hinds,et al.  The Place of Face-to-Face Communication in Distributed Work , 2002 .

[114]  Alain Pinsonneault,et al.  The Impacts of Telecommuting on Organizations and Individuals: A Review of the Literature , 2001 .

[115]  Erica I. Desrosiers.  Telework and work attitudes: The relationship between telecommuting and employee job satisfaction, organizational commitment, perceived organizational support, and perceived co -worker support , 2001 .

[116]  Donna Weaver McCloskey,et al.  Telecommuting Experiences and Outcomes: Myths and Realities , 2001 .

[117]  D. B. Ilozor,et al.  Management communication strategies determine job satisfaction in telecommuting , 2001 .

[118]  M. Mccarthy.  Exploring the impact of blurred boundaries in teleworkers. , 2001 .

[119]  Johanna Rothman,et al.  Making Telecommuting Work , 2000 .

[120]  N. Rothbard,et al.  Mechanisms Linking Work and Family: Clarifying the Relationship Between Work and Family Constructs , 2000 .

[121]  Stephen R. Barley,et al.  Do digital telecommunications affect work and organization? The state of our knowledge. , 1999 .

[122]  E M Hallowell,et al.  The human moment at work. , 1999, Harvard business review.

[123]  Rosann Webb Collins,et al.  Distributed Work Arrangements: A Research Framework , 1998, Inf. Soc..

[124]  M Apgar,et al.  The alternative workplace: changing where and how people work. , 1998, Harvard business review.

[125]  S. Mackie-Lewis.  Changing place and time of work: The impact of telecommuting on employees' personal networks and psychological well-being. , 1998 .

[126]  Keri E. Pearlson,et al.  Two Cheers for the Virtual Office , 1998 .

[127]  Margaret Tan,et al.  The virtual workplace , 1998 .

[128]  Charlotte R. Gerstner,et al.  Meta-Analytic Review of Leader-Member Exchange Theory: Correlates and Construct Issues , 1997 .

[129]  Dawn H. Coveyduck.  Investigation of selected factors on job satisfaction among telecommuters. , 1997 .

[130]  Thomas Daniel Welchans,et al.  The effects of telecommuting and communication media on perceived value congruence, organizational support and job satisfaction / , 1996 .

[131]  Winfred Arthur,et al.  Development of a new outlier statistic for meta-analytic data , 1995 .

[132]  D. M. Georgoff,et al.  Harvard Business Review: David M. Georgoff and Robert G. Murdick, manager's guide to forecasting, 64 (Jan-Feb.) (1986) 110-120 , 1988 .

[133]  Robert E. Kraut,et al.  TECHNOLOGY AND THE TRANSFORMATION OF WHITE - COLLAR WORK , 1987 .

[134]  Jeffrey H. Greenhaus,et al.  Sources of Conflict Between Work and Family Roles , 1985 .

[135]  Jeffrey H. Greenhaus,et al.  Sources and conflict between work and family roles. , 1985 .

[136]  R. Rosenthal.  Meta-analytic procedures for social research , 1984 .

[137]  John Short,et al.  The social psychology of telecommunications , 1976 .

[138]  G. W. England,et al.  A Theory of Work Adjustment , 1968 .

[139]  James D. Thompson.  Organizations in Action , 1967 .