Realistic, ambivalent and enthusiastic: the three types of teleworker

Companies are debating whether to look to teleworking or a mass return to the office, while a number of studies have focused on the advantages and disadvantages of teleworking. Recent research by the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC), published in the open-access peer-reviewed International Journal of Manpower, offers a new approach and analyses this issue according to how employees themselves perceive remote work. Its results can help companies to better organize their management and increase employee satisfaction.

Vicente Peñarroja, professor and researcher in the i2TIC interdisciplinary research group on ICT at the UOC's Faculty of Economics and Business, explained that his article explores a new approach to planning work: "The idea of my research was to identify profiles based on the perception that employees themselves have of teleworking. This issue is significant because, when you look at it from this point of view, you can see that the people in a company don't all have the same preferences or needs. Identifying the different types of worker to offer them a personalized work plan can bring benefits to both employees and the organization."

Three different visions of teleworking

Peñarroja used data from 842 individuals who answered the National Institute of Statistics Survey on Equipment and the Use of Information and Communication Technologies in the home in 2021. The questionnaire contained twelve questions in which respondents had to assess six advantages and disadvantages of teleworking.

Based on the responses, three main categories of teleworker were identified: realistic, ambivalent and enthusiastic. The realists were those who not only recognized the advantages of teleworking, but were also aware of many of its disadvantages; the ambivalent group pointed to more disadvantages, and the enthusiasts saw only the benefits. "There was only one negative aspect that all three groups highlighted, including the enthusiasts: social isolation," Peñarroja said.

The analysis found that the individuals in the groups shared certain characteristics. On average, the realists had higher levels of education and household income. The enthusiasts, in turn, worked more hours outside the office than those in the other two categories. According to the researcher, this may be due to circumstances that should be studied: the realists may well have had more senior positions that made remote work difficult, while the enthusiasts were likely to have included more tech-savvy young people.

Increasingly important research

As the study itself points out, in order to take advantage of the classification of workers into groups, the research should be continued to find out whether these profiles persist over time or change as workers' conditions vary. Specific aspects of the work context also need to be taken into account: factors such as the type of industry, the demands of the position, the culture of the organization, and whether individuals have other psychological needs. The individuals' levels of self-efficacy and self-control and the need for more or less autonomy depending on their experience are factors that probably influence how teleworking is perceived.

For Peñarroja, it is essential to continue studying teleworking so that it can be satisfactorily incorporated into people's lives, especially at a time when technologies such as artificial intelligence will bring about new changes. For example, recorded videoconferencing can be more productive than face-to-face meetings, as summaries can be produced immediately. And technologies such as geolocation will allow better monitoring of employees' movements. It is increasingly necessary, he explained, to reflect on how stress can be managed at work and separating personal space from the workplace.

This research contributes to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 8, Decent Work and Economic Growth.

Reference article

Peñarroja, V. (2024), "Are there differences in the perceived advantages and disadvantages of teleworking? The identification of distinct classes of teleworkers", International Journal of Manpower, Vol. 45 No. 10, pp. 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJM-07-2023-0416

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The UOC's research and innovation (R&I) is helping overcome pressing challenges faced by global societies in the 21st century by studying interactions between technology and human & social sciences with a specific focus on the network society, e-learning and e-health.

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