Telecommuting: Reduces Employee Stress with No Downsides for Employers

A press release on Newswise.com reports the results of a study called The Good, the Bad, and the Unknown About Telecommuting: Meta-Analysis of Psychological Mediators and Individual Consequences, which is published in the current issue of the Journal of Applied Psychology.

The study was done by psychologists who compiled and analyzed research done on related subjects for the past twenty years, using a technique that synthesizes the information by employing proven statistical methods. The research was done using 46 previous studies of 12, 833 employees. The lead author of the research is Ravi S. Gajendran, PhD.

According to the press release, about four million more Americans (45 million) telecommuted in 2006 than in 2003. This figure was taken from the magazine WorldatWork. For purposes of the research, the definition of telecommuting is "an alternative work arrangement in which employees perform tasks elsewhere that are normally done in a primary or central workplace, for at least some portion of their work schedule, using electronic media to interact with others inside and outside the organization.

The research focused on three questions. The 1^st question the researchers wanted to answer was whether or not telecommuting is effective. Part of this question involved the positive and negative outcomes of telecommuting. According to the results published, telecommuting was found to have a positive effect on employee-supervisor relationships. This was in contrast with conclusions that had been previously written in literature concerning the subject. Supervisors were found to rate telecommuter's performance higher.

The telecommuter was not, however, inclined to rate himself or herself higher. This was important to the research and mitigated any bias that might have skewed the results of the research. There was also no perceived adverse effect on career prospects among the telecommuters. One possible explanation for these findings was that telecommuters may put forth extra effort to make sure their relationship with their supervisor is good so as not to give any reason for the termination of the telecommuting arrangement. Another posit was that supervisors may be more inclined to agree to telecommuting for employees that they perceive to already be performing well. The research showed that a possible slight negative effect for telecommuting is the relationship of the telecommuter and his fellow workers.

The 2^nd question the researchers wanted to answer was: what causes the consequences of telecommuting. The main finding for the positive perception that telecommuters have of the practice was that the idea of self-determination is the most important aspect of employee satisfaction. The telecommuters not only reported more job satisfaction, but less inclination to look for another job and a reduction of stress.

The 3^rd question the researchers queried was: when do the consequences occur and what consequences (positive and negative) are the most influential. The research showed that the slightly negative consequence of the relationship with peers did not have much impact. Employees who were allowed to choose to telecommute frequently reported the most reduction in stress and the highest perceived feelings about the positive effects of work on their family relationships. Even employees who were only occasionally allowed to choose to telecommute reported a higher satisfaction with work and family stress levels.

Women were found to experience a greater benefit from the telecommuting arrangement and reported that the arrangement not only had no negative implications for their career advancement, but improved their prospects for advancement. Researchers again offered a posit that this could be because women are still viewed as the primary family care-giver and the one who suffers the most stress trying to balance work outside the home with home and family responsibilities. The researchers further state that this perception is commonly held in the workplace and for that reason, women may be "given wider latitude" by employers and fellow employees to vary their work schedules and structures.

The conclusions of the research is that telecommuting was found to have no evident adverse effect on workplace relationships other than the slight impact between workers who telecommute and their peers who cannot. It also does not appear to have any adverse impact on career prospects. One of the suggestions of the psychologist researchers is that better management policies by human resource departments could lessen the slight negative effect of telecommuting on employee peer relationships. The most definite conclusion of the study is that telecommuting has a definite positive impact on employee satisfaction and stress with no negative impact on employee production.

Sources Used:

www.newswise.com/articles/view/535430/

Journal of Applied Psychology Vol. 92 #6
The Good, the Bad, and the Unknown About Telecommuting: Meta Analysis of Psychological Mediators and Individual Consequences
by Ravi S. Gajendran, PhD and David A. Harrison, PhD
Pennsylvania State University