Telework: A Way to Balance Work and Family or an Increase in Work-Family Conflict?

Abstract: Some see in telework a way to better balance professional and personal or family responsibilities. We analyzed the data on telework in the Workplace Employee Survey (WES) and found that only a small percentage of workers indicate that they telework because of family obligations, while for two thirds, it is because of employers’ demands. Data is compared according to gender and number of children, and again this highlights the fact that work–family balance is not the main reason for working at home. The data show that it is employers’ requirements that explain the majority of hours of work done at home. Resume : Certains voient dans le teletravail une facon de mieux concilier les responsabilites parentales et professionnelles. Nous presentons ici une analyse des donnees de l’Enquete sur le milieu de travail en evolution, et constatons plutot que ce sont les exigences de l’employeur qui amenent les gens a travailler a la maison. Les donnees sont comparees selon le sexe, ainsi que le nombre d’enfants, et ceci permet de montrer que la conciliation emploi-famille n’est pas la principale raison pour travailler a domicile. Les donnees indiquent que ce sont les demandes des employeurs qui expliquent l’importance des heures de travail effectuees a domicile.

[1]  D. Arnaud.  Conciliation emploi-famille et temps sociaux , 1970 .

[2]  Joanne H. Pratt,et al.  Home teleworking: A study of its pioneers , 1984 .

[3]  K. Christensen,et al.  IMPACTS OF COMPUTER‐MEDIATED HOME‐BASED WORK ON WOMEN AND THEIR FAMILIES , 1987 .

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

[5]  U. Huws,et al.  Telework: Towards the Elusive Office , 1990 .

[6]  M Hafer.  TELECOMMUTING: AN ALTERNATE ROUTE TO WORK. VOLUME 1: STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE , 1992 .

[7]  Telework, Shadow Work: The Privatization of Work in the New Digital Economy , 1997 .

[8]  G. Guérin,et al.  Le conflit Emploi-Famille: ses causes et ses consequences. Resultats d'enquete , 1997 .

[9]  Travail à domicile en tant que nouveau mode de travail : une étude empirique exploratoire , 1997 .

[10]  Du télétravail au travail à distance , 1998 .

[11]  Richard J. Boden.  Flexible Working Hours, Family Responsibilities, and Female Self-Employment: Gender Differences in Self-Employment Selection , 1999 .

[12]  A. Felstead,et al.  In Work, At Home: Towards an Understanding of Homeworking , 1999 .

[13]  Richard J. Boden.  Gender inequality in wage earnings and female self-employment selection , 1999 .

[14]  Kiran Mirchandani,et al.  “The Best of Both Worlds” and “Cutting My Own Throat”: Contradictory Images of Home-Based Work , 2000 .

[15]  C. Higgins,et al.  Work-Life Balance in the New Millennium: Where Are We? Where Do We Need To Go? CPRN Discussion Paper. , 2001 .

[16]  Marie des Neiges Baudry de Vaux,et al.  Télétravail. Concilier performance et qualité de vie. Amours Liette D' (Dir.) CEFRIO. Québec, Montréal, Éditions Isabelle Quentin, 2001 , 2002 .

[17]  Diane-Gabrielle Tremblay,et al.  Balancing work and family with telework? Organizational issues and challenges for women and managers , 2002 .

[18]  Wired to the World, Chained to the Home: Telework in Daily Life (review) , 2003 .

[19]  Diane-Gabrielle Tremblay,et al.  Telework: A new mode of gendered segmentation? Results from a Study in Canada , 2003 .

[20]  S. Baines,et al.  What is family friendly about the workplace in the home? The case of self-employed parents and their children , 2003 .

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

[22]  Le télétravail, une vague silencieuse , 2005 .

[23]  D. Tremblay,et al.  Articulation emploi-famille et temps de travail : De quelles mesures disposent les travailleurs canadiens et à quoi aspirent-ils? , 2006 .

[24]  Le « mobile working » : De nouvelles perspectives sur les lieux et les formes du télétravail , 2006 .

[25]  D. Tremblay,et al.  Le télétravail à domicile : Meilleure conciliation emploi-famille ou source d’envahissement de la vie privée ? , 2006 .