Année académique 2008-2009 Working paper 08 / 26 Despatialisation : Towards the re-organisation of control . The case of telework in a biopharmaceutical company

In theory, as in practice, telework constitutes nowadays a component of a flexible way to manage work which is potentially favourable to employees as well as to employers, but can also lead to new sources of tensions (Taskin & Vendramin, 2004). Indeed, this new form of work organisation challenges traditional organisation of work and human resource management practices, which are largely based on the principles of visibility (i.e. the capability to observe the employee) and presence (i.e. the capability of the employee to interact with co-workers) of employees (Felstead et al., 2003). This contribution illustrates how despatialisation may contribute to recast control modes through the development of new managerial practices (closed to surveillance), as well as to new strategies from employees who seek to signal their presence and visibility remotely. To a certain extent, teleworkers gain discretion to organise, plan and execute work tasks, but they are more closely controlled accor