REMOTE OFFICE WORK: CHANGING WORK
`PATERNS IN SPACE AND TIME
`
`Margrethe H . Olson
`New York University
`
`Working Paper Series
`STERN IS-81 -56
`
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`Skm ">dhlllllll Bus1n.:>•
`Worhlllg l'ap~r IS-~ 1-'o
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`Blue Coat Systems - Exhibit 1045 Page 1
`
`

`
`REPORTS AND
`ARTICLES
`
`IS-81-56
`
`REMOTE OFFICE WORK:
`CHANGING WORK
`PATTERNS IN SPACE
`AND TIME
`
`MARGRETHE H. OLSON New York University
`
`Morgrcthe H. Olson is
`currently involved in the
`long-term evaluation of
`companies experimenting
`with pilot work-at-home
`programs, os port of o long·
`standing interest in the
`impact of office automation
`on the nature of work. She
`sits on the r.c/itoriol boards of
`Office: Technology and
`People ond Management
`lnfarmotion Systems
`Quarterly.
`
`This paper was presented
`at the Third International
`Conference on Information
`Systems: held
`December 13-15, 1982, in
`Ann Arbor, Michigan.
`Author's Present Address:
`Margrethe H. Olson,
`Grad uate School of Business
`Admini!>tr;;ttion. New York
`University, 90 Trinity Place,
`New York, New York 10006.
`Permission to copy without
`fcc all or part of this material
`is gronted provided thai the
`copies arc not moUe or
`distributed for direct
`c:.ummcrdi1l advantage, the
`ACM copyright notice and
`the title of the publication
`anr.l its date appear, a nd
`notice is given that copying is
`by permission of the
`Association for Computing
`Machinery. To copy
`otherwise, or to republish,
`requires a fcc anr.l/ur specific
`permission.© 1983 ACM
`0001·0782/63/0300·0182 75e
`
`INTRODUCTION
`Remote work generally refers to organizational work per(cid:173)
`formed outside of the normal or.~anizational confines of
`space and time. Although many self-employed profession(cid:173)
`als, artists, writers, and craftspeople work at home and
`set their own schedules, most employees work nine-to(cid:173)
`five at a specified organizational location. ·
`Office automation, the use of computer and communi(cid:173)
`cations technology to support office functions, provides
`the potential to alter the locatio.nal and temporal defini(cid:173)
`tion of a large number of office jobs. The term telecom(cid:173)
`muting (11) refers to the substitution of communications
`capabilities for travel to a central work location. Office
`automation technology permits many office workers to be
`potential tel.ecommuters in that their work can be per(cid:173)
`formed remotely with computer and communications sup(cid:173)
`port.
`This paper examines some behavioral. organizational,
`and social issues surrounding remote work. Several kinds
`of remote work options are presented; the emphasis
`throughout is on work-at-home. Based on exploraiory
`research by the author, some preliminary conclusions
`about the types of jobs that can be performed remotely
`and the types of individuals that are suited for work-at(cid:173)
`home are presented. Some questions regarding the effect
`of remote work, particularly work-at-home, on the indi(cid:173)
`vidual's relationship to work and nonwork are discussed,
`with emphasis on the need for research.
`
`TECHNOLOGICAL AND SOCIAL TRENDS
`Developments in computer and communications technol(cid:173)
`ogy are facilitating the trend to remote work. The dra(cid:173)
`matic decreases in the costs of this technology have in(cid:173)
`creased its availability to large numbers of people. Elec(cid:173)
`tronic communications services such as electronic mail
`and teleconferencing facilitate communications without
`requiring both parties to participate simultaneously and
`face-to-face. Most significantly, the general trend to office
`automation will see the development of professional
`workstations- microcomputer-based systems tailored to a
`particular professional, manager, or secretary. In the long
`run, the individual will not need the equipment, paper
`files, or supplies provided in the office because they will
`be built into a workstation.
`Technology itself will not bring about changes in orga(cid:173)
`ni:z:ational structure and climate. Companies are facing
`
`ABSTRACT: Remote work refers
`to organizational work that is per·
`formed outside of the normal or(cid:173)
`ganizational confines of space and
`time, The term telecommuting re(cid:173)
`fers to the substitution of commu(cid:173)
`nications capabilities for travel to
`a central work location. Office au(cid:173)
`tomation technology permits
`many office wotkers to be poten(cid:173)
`tial telecommuters in that their
`work can be performed remotely
`with computer and communica(cid:173)
`tions support. This paper exam-
`. ines some behavioral, organiza(cid:173)
`tional, and social issues surround(cid:173)
`ing remote work, particularly
`work at home.
`An exploratory study was con(cid:173)
`ducied of 32 organizational em(cid:173)
`ployees who were working at
`home. Important characteristics of
`jobs that can be performed at
`home were: minimum physical re(cid:173)
`quirements, individual control
`over work pace, defined dclivcrtl·
`bles, a need for concentration, and
`are~tin~~wn~dfur~mm~
`nication. The individuals who
`worked at home successfully were
`found to be highly self-motivated
`and self-disciplined and to have
`skills which provided them with
`bargai11ing power. They also made
`the arrangement either because of
`family requirements or because
`they preferred few social contacts
`beyond family.
`
`182
`
`Communicalions of the ACM
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`REPORTS AHD ARTICLES
`
`cr.onomic and societal changes that are having a negative
`impact on organizational effectiveness. For some of these
`problems, technology provides unique solutions.
`Over the last decade, considerable research has been
`undertaken to predict the effect of increased communica(cid:173)
`tions capabilities on transportation needs (6, 9, 11]. If
`computer and communications capabilities were substi(cid:173)
`tuted for certain types of travel, transportation and en(cid:173)
`ergy needs would be reduced. Based on extrapolations
`from current energy and transportation needs, one report
`estimates that if 20 percent of all business travel (includ(cid:173)
`ing both air travel and business travel by auto) were elim(cid:173)
`inated through the substitution of teleconferencing, an
`energy savings of 130,000 barrels of gasoline daily (at 1974
`levels) would result. Since 25 percent of all mileage and
`27 percent of all gasoline consumption is spent commut(cid:173)
`ing. the resulting savings from reduced commuting would
`IJc even more dramatic. The report estimates that if 50
`percent of all office workers worked in or near their
`homes six out -of every seven working days, the savings in
`fuel consumption from reduced commuting would be
`about 240,000 barrels of gasoline daily in 1985 (6, p. 1111].
`The increasing size and complexity of today's business
`organization is leading to increased specialization of the
`white-collar work force and a trend to increased contract
`work (5]. The composition of the work force is also
`changing. Women have been entering (or reentering) the
`work force at un unprecedented rate, particularly women
`with young children; a recent study showed that in 1978
`over 35 percent of all American households required sup(cid:173)
`plementary day care (4]. New demands are placed on
`families, organizations, and society in order to allow work
`and family to be combined more easily [3]. Because of ·
`dual-career couples and strong individual lifestyle prefer(cid:173)
`ences, companies have less control over individual career
`decisions than in the past. With the rising costs of office
`space and business travel, companies are motivated to
`search for alternatives.
`
`REMOTE WORK OPTIONS
`There are a number of feasible alternative work arrange(cid:173)
`men ts that provide some flexibility in the locational and
`temporal definition of work. They differ in scope and
`structure; some require a mnjor reorganization of anum(cid:173)
`ber of jobs and people. Others are guidelines for general
`action, while still others such as work-at-home can be
`implemented on an individual basis depending on the sit(cid:173)
`uation. Four such options are discussed in this section.
`
`Satellite Work Centers
`The idea of a satellite work center is that a relatively self(cid:173)
`contained organizntional division be physically relocated.
`The emphasis is on the geographical location of the divi(cid:173)
`sion being within convenient commuting distance of the
`greatest number of employees. The optimum number of
`employees to relocute is determined by benefits from
`economies of scale of equipment and services. The logic is
`that the critical mass of employees will also provide the
`necessary social interaction and a sufficiently deep hier(cid:173)
`archical structure to provide adequate management on
`site. The optimum number is debatable; if multiple levels
`of management on site are desired, it may be as muny as
`several hundred employees.
`One other critical issue in the organization of a satellite
`wo.rk center is what segment of the central work force
`can be relocated. In order to benefit from ecpnomies of
`
`scale it may be optimum to relocate an entire function
`such as accounting or data processing. On the other hand,
`if the primary motivation is to reduce employees' com(cid:173)
`muting time and expense, the appropriate employees to
`relocate are those who live nearest the satellite work site.
`This raises potential problems of remote supervision and
`social isolation from professional peers.
`
`Neighborhood Work Centers
`Another structural option, similar to satellite work cen(cid:173)
`ters, only more complex to implement, is the concept of a
`neighborhood work center. Under this option, remote su(cid:173)
`pervision of employees is assumed to be effective. There(cid:173)
`fore, a critical mass of employees in one location is not
`necessary; however, economies of scale of equipment and
`certain services, such as facsimile transmission, hardcopy
`printing, teleconferencing facilities, etc .. are desirable.
`Employees from d.ifferent organizations would share
`space and equipment in the work center closest to their
`homes. Thus any densely populated area could have
`neighborhood work centers financially supported by all of
`tihe organizations whose employees use them.
`This option obviously relies heavily on the use of tele(cid:173)
`communications networks for coordination and supervi(cid:173)
`sion. Such a concept is complex to implement on a large
`scale because it requires a great deal of cooperation
`among different organizations.
`
`Flexible Work Arrangments
`This option represents a general organizational objective
`to provide employees with flexibility in the scheduling
`and location of work. It is based on management's recog(cid:173)
`nition that it is important and/or necessary to provide
`mechanisms for personal/family as well as work respon(cid:173)
`sibilities to be accommodated. Many companies arc now
`actively promoting arrangements such as flex-time and
`job-sharing. Provision of child care by the company or the
`government is an alternative that has had more wide(cid:173)
`spread acceptance in Europe than in the United Stutes.
`An extreme of this option is that employees can take a
`long period of time on leave from the company to raise a
`child, for instance, or to complete an education.
`A more common general trend in the United States is
`recognition of the need for occasional alternative work
`arrangements, especially for professional and managerial
`employees. Many companies encourage people to stay at
`home to write a critical report, for instance, away from
`the distractions of the office. The proliferation of portable
`computer terminals in many companies is another sign of
`increased flexibility; employees arc encouraged to take
`terminals home with them at night or on weekends to do
`critical work at nonpeak computer hours, or so that they
`do not have to make an extra trip to the office to do
`necessary overtime work.
`
`Work-at-Home
`The extreme case of individual work options is to have
`employees work at home on a regular basis. This may
`m·ean from one day a week to virtually full time. This
`option is heavily dependent on remote supervision. It
`does not provide the social interaction that a satellite or
`neighborhood work center would theoretically pmvidc.
`On the other hand, work-at-home can provide employees
`with extreme flexibility in schedule and life style; theoret(cid:173)
`ically they can work when and where they want in a
`more casual atmosphere. Child care can be accommo-
`
`MorcltJ983 Volumc26 Number3
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`REPORTS AND ARTICLES
`
`dated much more easily; for many people with primary
`child care responsibility, work-at-home may be their only
`employment option. It also offers employment opportuni(cid:173)
`ties to the elderly and handicapped. Work-at-home can
`easily be utilized as an option on an individual basis to
`accommodate a particular situation or need either tempo(cid:173)
`rarily or permanently.
`
`AN EXPLORATORY STUDY OF WORK-AT-HOME
`From management's point of view, the feasibility of
`remote work, particularly work-at-home, raises three
`significant questions.
`• What kinds of jobs can be performed remotely, i.e.,
`at home?
`• What kinds of individuals can work at home?
`• How are remote workers best monitored and
`controlled?
`The strategy for answering the last question is at least
`partially dependent on the appropriate choice of both jobs
`and individuals. However, to some extent, it also entails
`an adjustment in management style.
`In an exploratory study on work-at-home [1], the
`author interviewed 32 employees who worked at home
`and their managers, in an effort to derive a tentative set
`of answers to the above questions. The results of this
`exploratory study are summarized in this section.
`
`Research Method
`The author participated in an exploratory study
`sponsored by the Diebold Automated Office Program (1].
`Companies experimenting with pilot work-at-home
`programs were contacted and asked to provide the names
`of employees working at home. Each potential participant
`was then contacted directly and interviewed on a
`voluntary basis at his or her convenience.
`Semi-structured interviews were conducted over the
`telephone; each interview lasted about 30 minutes.
`(Copies of the interview schedules are available directly
`from the author.) The managers of the participants (8)
`were also interviewed by telephone; these interviews
`averaged one hour in duration.
`The sample vyas also limited by the following
`constraints:
`• All participants worked for companies rather than
`being independent. Eight interviewees served as
`subcontractors to a software contract firm; the others
`were participants in experimental or pilot work-at(cid:173)
`home programs.
`• All participants performed work normally performed
`in offices, at least that part of their work done at home.
`/\II participants worked at home on a regulnr basis,
`rather than an occasio.nal day or overtime. The number
`of days spent in the office varied from two days a
`week to once or twice a year; the schedule was
`rclativcly fixed in all cases.
`Table I presents the job .titles of the 32 people working
`al home who were interviewed. Table II gives a further
`breakdown by technical (computer-related) versus
`nontechnical skills.
`The need for computer and communications equipment
`for the jobs listed in Table I varied a great deal. The data
`cntz·y operators utilized portable terminals with limited
`storage. Most of the software engineers and programmers
`had their own equipment but a few used pencil and paper
`
`•
`
`Table I. The Research Sample. People Who Work-at(cid:173)
`Home.
`
`Number
`
`Clerical
`Data Entry Clerks
`Professional
`Software Engineers/Programmers
`Course Development Analysts
`Loss Control Consultants
`StaH Interviewers
`Managerial
`Technical Managers
`StaH Managers
`Project Managers
`
`7
`5
`6
`2
`
`2
`
`Table II. The Research Sample by Organizational and
`Technical Level.
`
`Technical
`
`Nontechnical
`4
`t2
`2
`
`Clerical
`Professional
`Managerial
`20womeo
`12men
`
`8
`6
`
`at home and terminals only in the office. The course
`development analysts used pencil and paper, while the
`primary tool of the staff interviewers was the telephone.
`The Joss control consultants, who spent 50 percent of
`their time in the field and the rest at home, used pencil
`and paper and dictation equipment to prepare their
`reports at home.
`
`Job Characteristics
`Based Ofllhe interviews, certain common job
`characteristics across all jobs became apparent. These
`traits are relatively independent from the technology
`employed or the job level. They are:
`1. Minimum physical requirements. In all cases the
`physical requirements of the job in terms of equipment
`and space were minimal. The maximum requirement
`was for a terminal and telephone hookup in the home;
`14 out of the 32 had terminals.
`2. Individual control over work pace. None of the jobs in
`the sample were driven externally by short term
`deadlines. Except for the data entry job, all were
`project-oriented with long term completion dates.
`3. Defined deliverables. All jobs were controllable by
`output in terms· of well-defined deliverables. Eight
`people were paid by output: the data entry clerks were
`paid on a per transaction basis; some of the contract
`programmers worked on fixed price contracts for a
`delivered system or per completed program.
`4. Need for concentration. All participants except the
`data entry clerks characterized their job~ as requiring a
`significant degree of concentration for at least some
`period of time.
`5. Defined milestones. All of those participants who
`worked on long term projects also indicated that their
`jobs had well-defined milestones-
`intermediate
`deadlines that were easily definable or measurable.
`6. Relatively low need for communications. The type and
`degree of communication required varied by job. The
`data entry operators had a low need for
`communication with anyone in the organization. For
`most of the jobs, the significant characteristic of the
`need for communications is that it can be partitioned.
`The employee can work for relatively long periods of
`
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`REPORTS AND ARTICLES
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`time with little or no communication with the central
`office. What communication is required can be
`·
`"hatched" during the time the employee is in the office
`or handled easily by telephone.
`Those with management responsibilities had a
`relatively high need for communications. Generally they
`utilized the telephone heavily. However, two of the
`managers utilized electronic mail extensively to
`communicate both with subordinates (some of whom also
`worked at home) and clients in the office; they were very
`satisfied with the results.
`
`Individual Characteristics
`The individuuls who were interviewed had two reasons
`for choosing this work arrangement: either personal pref(cid:173)
`erence or lack of ability to work any other way because
`of responsibilities or constraints. The latter category
`would include the elderly and the handicapped (although
`none were interviewed in this study) and those with pri(cid:173)
`mary child care responsibility. One would expect differ(cid:173)
`ent personality types to be found in each of these catego(cid:173)
`ries.
`Several individual characteristics common to the entire
`sample of home workers were ascertained. It is proposed
`that all workers should have this set of characteristics
`regardless of their reason for wanting to work at home;
`otherwise work-:1!-home may not be successful regardless
`of the lack of alternatives. These characteristics are:
`1. Self-mo_tivation, self-discipline. The workers inter(cid:173)
`viewed were primarily professionals who would be ex(cid:173)
`pected to have a high degree of both of these character(cid:173)
`istics: professional employees are in general the most
`likely c:1ndidatcs fo1· work-at-home. Employees demon(cid:173)
`strated self-discipline by tending to work in a very
`strict routine; they worked in the same place every day
`and tended to have relatively structured hours.
`2. Skills provide bargaining power. 23 out of the 32
`people interviewed felt that they had some bargaining
`power with their employers, either because of their
`specialized skills or because of their proven loyalty to
`the company. Several of those who had specialized
`technical skills indicated that they would leave the
`company if they could no longer work at home:
`3. Family requirements. 12 of those interviewed indicated
`that their family situation was the primary reason for
`them to choose the work-at-home arrangement. Many
`of those interviewed felt that relations with their fam(cid:173)
`ily were a problem. The discipline of the family as well
`as the individuol was seen as critical. Concentration
`did not seem to be affected by family requirements; it
`was no greater a problem for those with family than
`for those without it.
`4 . Few social contacts beyond work and family. This was
`not a universal characteristic, but some of those
`interviewed participated only in family or solitary
`activities beyond work. These same employees had
`fewer problems with social isolation or concentration
`than the rest of the group. The data suggest that a
`person who likes to be alone could work at home
`successfully with r elatively few adjustments.
`
`Remote Supervision
`Interviews w ith managers of those who work at home
`gave some indication of methods of monitoring and con(cid:173)
`trolling remote work. The mechanisms for doing this not
`
`only depend on the level of the job (i.e., professional ver(cid:173)
`sus clerical), but may also require a management style
`with which many managers would not feel comfortablo.
`The managers interviewed relied heavily on mutual
`trust nnd respect in their relations with their employees.
`They stressed that at all times the employees must know
`they were being treated equitably and their work was
`recognized. Having measurable results and, if possible,
`milestones built into the job made remote management
`much easier. Those employees who had access to elec(cid:173)
`tronic mail had daily contact with and daily monitoring
`by their supervisors. The availability of open communica(cid:173)
`tions at all times was seen as critical; remote workers
`needed to be easy to reach within a reasonable <~mount of
`lime. On the other hand, managers needed lo accept that
`they may call an employee in the· middle of the afternoon,
`for instance, and get no answer. An asynchronous re(cid:173)
`sponse mechanism such as electronic mail or a telephone
`message recording system may make a significant differ(cid:173)
`ence in ease of management control.
`One critical issue expressed by the managers was that
`remote work should be voluntary. Even more important
`was the attitude of the person who directly supervised
`remote workers. If the requirements for management of
`remote work made a manager uncomfortable for any rea(cid:173)
`son, it was generally acknowledged that remote work
`would not be successful.
`
`Long Term Considerations
`The long term implications of remote work, for both the
`individual and the organization, have not been adequately
`considered to date. One major concern is the long-term
`career potential of an employee in an environment where
`visibility is still criticul to promotubility. SonH: form of
`management by objectives, either informal or formal, gen(cid:173)
`erally needs to replace "over the shoulder" supervision, in
`spirit as well as in fact.
`Another long term concern is the company's public im(cid:173)
`age. Several public util.ities experimenting with work-at(cid:173)
`home were particularly sensitive to this issue: What do a
`person's neighbors think when they know he or she com(cid:173)
`mands a regular salary but stays at home?
`Salary, benefits, and insurance were not a major prob(cid:173)
`lem for pilot work-at-home projects but could become a
`major issue if the trend toward remote work continues.
`Most of those interviewed received full salary and bene(cid:173)
`fits, while a few worked part-time and received no bene(cid:173)
`fits. Although some concerns have been expressed over
`how to establish piece rates for word ptocessing or other
`clerical tasks, this does not appear to be a problem for
`professional workers.
`The exploratory study raised more questions about crit(cid:173)
`ical issues tfian it answered. In the next section, some
`specific research questions requiring further investigation
`before remote work becomes widely accept1~d will be pro(cid:173)
`posed.
`
`RESEARCH ISSUES
`Remote work, whether it involves work-at-home, satellite
`work centers, or other options, raises important issues
`about the relationship of the individual to his or her work
`and to the organization. Work-at-home represents the ex(cid:173)
`treme case where the relationship between work and non(cid:173)
`work (i.e., leisure) is also affected. In this section a num(cid:173)
`ber of research questions are raised. They are not pre(cid:173)
`sented as formal hypotheses but as vehicles for discussion
`of l:"esearch requirements. Preliminary evidence from the
`
`c
`
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`Blue Coat Systems - Exhibit 1045 Page 5
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`REPORTS AND ARTICLES
`
`exploratory study is cited as eviden<;e of thu importunce
`of the questions.
`The research questions represent three general areas of
`concern. The first two areas deal with workers as organi(cid:173)
`zation members. Remote supervision focuses on the short
`term consequences of managing employees who are not
`colocated. These questions are relevant whether the
`"remote" employees are working down the street from
`their managers, in a different part of the country, or at
`hom c. The second urea of concern is the long term rela(cid:173)
`tionship of the employee to the organization; these issues
`are also relevant for all remote employees but particularly
`for those who work at home. The last area of concern, the
`relationship between nonwork and work-related activi(cid:173)
`ties, applies to any individual who works at home and, to
`some extent, those who work near home, e.g .. in a neigh(cid:173)
`borhood work center. The research questions of work ver(cid:173)
`sus nonwork are relevant whether the worker is an orga(cid:173)
`nizational employee or self-employed.
`
`Remote Supervision
`As has already been noted, the most immediate questions
`in proposals of remote work experiments deal with man(cid:173)
`agement of remote employees. Although some suggestions
`for identifying likely jobs and individuals for remote work
`have been given here, further research along these lines is
`necessary. In addition, a formal evaluation mechanism for
`determining the economic. technical, and operational fea(cid:173)
`sibility of any particular remote work program is critically
`needed.
`In the long term, several other research questions re-
`garding remote supervision arise.
`
`What is the role of telecommunications (i.e., elec(cid:173)
`tronic moil) in remote supervision?
`Although most of the jobs examined in the exploratory
`study were project-oriented and did not require frequent
`monitoring, those individuals with access to electronic
`maiJ communicated with their supervisors much more
`frequen tly (daily) than those who did not. While telecom(cid:173)
`muni<;ations is apparently not a requirement for remote
`work, it may facilitate remote supervision and permit
`mo1·e jobs to be eligible candidates.
`What is the effect of payment by output (i.e., piece
`rates or fixed price contract work) on control, moti(cid:173)
`vation, and economic rewards of salaried employees?
`There is a prevailing feeling that payment by output is
`the only appropriate mechanism for controlling remote
`work; however, most of the situations described here in(cid:173)
`volved salaried employees. It has been argued that per(cid:173)
`mitting work at home on piece rates provides the opportu(cid:173)
`nity for exploitation of office workers (2, 7, 14].
`
`The Relationship of the Individual to the Organization
`Although difficulties with remote supervision arc fre(cid:173)
`quently cited as a major hurdle to successful remote work
`programs, other long term issues regarding the
`individual's relationship to his or her work and how it
`may be altered have not been given adequate attention.
`/-low docs remote work affect individual motivation,
`productivity, and job satisfaction?
`Preliminary evidence from the exploratory study shows
`that individuals can be as or more productive when work-
`
`ing at home. However, some of thu indivitluuls inter(cid:173)
`viewed cited problems with motivation and numerous
`distractions at home that made concentration difficult.
`The definitions of job !;nlis f:tr.tion nssllnl<' a distinct sepa(cid:173)
`ration of work and nonwork activities. With greater inte(cid:173)
`gration of work and non work, problems or distractions
`with one area of life activity may more distinctly affect
`the other areas; thus the concept itself requires some re(cid:173)
`definition.
`How does remote work affect individual stress, both
`job-related and otherwise?
`Those interviewed often cited reduced commuting us a
`major benefit of work at home; in many cases they attrib(cid:173)
`uted reduced stress directly to the lack of necessity to
`commute. They felt that they were also more productive
`and more motivated since they did not have to experience
`the ordeal of commuting. Others cited job-related stresses
`such as pressure from co-workers as being reduced. On
`the other hand, several of those interviewed who also hud
`primary family care responsibilities indicated that coping
`with both work and family was highly stressful. Their
`baseline, however, was the choice between working and
`not working rather thnn working at hom•~ versus in illl
`office; for those that felt working at home was more
`stressful than not working at all, the benefits of working
`still outweighed the costs.
`
`1-Jow does remote work affect the employee's rela (cid:173)
`tionship to professional peers?
`
`It is often assumed that social isolation is a problem.
`Satellite work centers are assumed to provide the neces(cid:173)
`sary social contact and are therefore often seen as more
`feasible than work-at-home. However, based on the ex(cid:173)
`pl,oratory study, the author strongly suspects that contact
`with professional peers is critical to professional develop(cid:173)
`ment, and this contact is not necessnrily provided through
`satellite work centers. The importance of this contact and
`social isolation in gcner111 need to be critically examined.
`
`What is the effect of remote work on long term
`career paths and promotability?
`Even if a manager accepts remote supervision as feasi(cid:173)
`ble and permits remote work, there is no assurance that
`the lack of visibility of the remote employee does not
`affect his or her long term career path in an environment
`where visibility is key to promotability. lt is the author.'s
`opinion that dramatic changes in definition and percep(cid:173)
`tions of career paths are required in order to accommo(cid:173)
`date changing life style trends. Such changes arc likely to
`be necessary before remote work can be guaranteed not
`to be disadvantageous for an individual's long term career
`potential.
`What is the effect of remote work on organizational
`commitment versus individual autonomy?
`In the long run the relationship of the individual who
`works remotely to organizational identification may be
`altered. Preliminary evidence shows thai remote work,
`particularly work-at-home, fosters individual autonomy
`rather than organizational commitment. In the explora(cid:173)
`tory study it was found that s·ome companies emphasized
`organizational loyalty in other ways and only selected
`individuals to participate who had already demonstrated
`their dedication to organizational goals. Even so, there
`were cases of individuals subcontracting their skills to
`
`C<ntor l\1r l>lgltnll:.cunum:. Rcs~.ud1
`Stcn1 s~hool nf Htr10: mess
`\\ <)rl.ing Pap.:r tS-R t- ~h
`
`Blue Coat Systems - Exhibit 1045 Page 6
`
`

`
`REPORTS AND ARTICLES
`
`other organizations "on the side." On a more subtle note,
`sever;~ I individuals indica