TeleworkA means to high performing workplaces

Claudia Perry-BeltrameMBA (Dist) Bcom (Mark, ECom) (Dist)

Commuters from the Illawarra Region, Australia, were asked about their experiences and perceptions on commuting, teleworking and employers readiness to provide telework.

Overview

Industry 76.4% from seven industries: Financial and insurance services; Information, media and telecommunications; Public administration and safety; and Education and training; Health care and social assistance; Professional, scientific and technical services; Administrative and support services

Gender 43% male, 36% female, 21% unspecified Age: 26% 18-34, 51% 35-54, 13% 55 plus Position Levels:

39% team members, 16% middle managers, 12% team leaders, and 12% senior executives, senior managers or owners

Survey Respondents Profile

Commuting Reasons

Money

Career Choice

Type of Work

Interesting Work

No work in field

Promotion opportunities

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

At least 10% of Australian’s spend more

time commuting than with their children, partner or

family.

Health and Social Issues

Getting enough rest is difficult

Getting sufficient sleep is difficult

Having enough time for my friends

Staying physically healthy is difficult

Managing my work/life balance is a challenge

Having enough time for to do what I want to

Having time to exercise

Having enough time for my family

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

Spending Deficit to Regions

Australian Dollars (AU$) spent per day per commuter dailymillion AU$ spent annually by 20,000 commuters commuting daily

Telework is a Social Change akin to the move from farming and

home production to factory work.It requires a different way of

thinking about work.

Not all jobs are suitable for telework say 20% of respondents

My tasks are suitable for 1 day or more say 58%

Not all commuters want to telework say 16% Best jobs are knowledge-based and clerical

work Not all people are suitable for telework Telework requires technical competence,

trustworthiness and a self-authoring mindset

Telework suitability

Productivity◦ Teleworkers

70% say they are more productive 66% have less distractions and 71% less interruptions

◦ Non-teleworkers 48% think teleworking would make them more

productive 36% are unsure

Comparisons: Productivity

Teleworkers experiences with Teleworking

Strongly Agree

Slightly Agree Neither

Slightly Disagree

Strongly Disagree

Bureaucratic process to telework is difficult 10% 14% 23% 22% 31%Access to equipment is an issue 14% 22% 11% 19% 33%Attitudes by management and colleagues are positive 23% 35% 21% 11% 10%Career prospects are hindered 9% 26% 25% 26% 14%Social Aspects are important 48% 38% 5% 7% 2%

Comparisons: Managing telework

Non-Teleworkers perceptions of Teleworking

Strongly Agree

Slightly Agree Neither

Slightly Disagree

Strongly Disagree

Bureaucratic processes to telework is difficult 27% 12% 25% 8% 11%Access to equipment is an issue 19% 19% 24% 20% 18%Attitudes by management and colleagues are positive 14% 21% 35% 16% 13%Career prospects are hindered 21% 28% 32% 9% 10%Social Aspects are important 31% 30% 24% 8% 7%

Comparisons: Employer support capabilities Less than half of the respondents say their

employer has the following in place

Technological capabilities to support IT issues

Trusting workplace environment

Performance management process based on results

Transparent performance management process

Managerial capabilities to support virtual work

Policy on teleworking

Fair process for approving telework

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 50%

% non-teleworkers % teleworkers

Sleep deprivation undermines cognitive performance,

increases mood swings and reduces alertness.

Commuting increases fatigue and fatigue increases errors

and accidents.Fatigue hinders high

performance at work.

High Performing Workplaces Index

Boedker et al. (2011) Leadership, Culture and Management Practices of High Performing Workplaces in Australia: High Performing Workplaces Index, Society for Knowledge Economies, University of NSW

18 Variables show difference between high (blue) and low (red) performing workplaces.

10 variables correlate with telework implementation (pink).

4 variables have a large impact (dark pink).

Telework High Performing Workplaces IndexManagement Capabilities & Trusting Work Environment

People ManagementEmployee CommitmentJob Satisfaction

Authentic LeadershipStaff Turnover

Fair process People ManagementEmployee CommitmentJob Satisfaction

Distributed Fairness Procedural Fairness Emotions – feeling valued

Performance Management – transparency and outcomes based

People ManagementEmployee CommitmentJob Satisfaction

Distributed Fairness Emotions – feeling valued, proud, optimistic

Career Prospects Employee Commitment Job SatisfactionDistributed Fairness

Learning and Development Emotions – motivation, feeling valued

Social Aspects of Work Employee Commitment Emotions – positive interactions with colleagues and supervisors, feeling proud to work there

Mapping Telework and High Performing Workplaces Index

Organisations implementing good telework conditions are rewarded by also becoming higher performing workplaces. Both require organisations to improve their workplace culture.

The full project report titled Commuting - A thing of the Past? is available at Cultural Inspirations

For information on change management and workplace culture transformations contact us on:Phone: 02-8005 7240Mobile: 0439 45 7240Email: claudia@culturalinspirations.com.au Website: www.culturalinspirations.com.au

LinkedIn: http://au.linkedin.com/in/claudiaperrybeltrame

Contact Details