Changing place and time of work: The impact of telecommuting on employees' personal networks and psychological well-being.

Abstract

Telecommuting is an alternative to the traditional workplace; telecommuters work away from the physical space of the organization some or all of the time and may also work more flexible hours than their traditional counterparts. Because telecommuters are not co-located with colleagues, they have fewer opportunities for face-to-face interactions with them and tend to communicate more through electronic media, which are less rich in social cues and may be less conducive to relationship development. By working away from their regular company offices, however, telecommuters may have more opportunities to interact with people outside of work and therefore to develop stronger relationships with them. Using social network theory and methodology, this study investigates how telecommuting affects the size and strength of social networks. Do employees who telecommute more frequently have fewer and weaker social contacts at work, and are some kinds of contacts affected more strongly than others? Further, do more frequent telecommuters have more and stronger non-work contacts than those who telecommute less frequently? This study employed a matched comparison research design, comprised of 80 telecommuters and 75 traditional office employees from four companies. Participants completed a survey that assessed their social networks, psychological well-being, and the extent of their telecommuting. The findings suggest that telecommuting influences the frequency of interactions at work--heavier telecommuters interact less frequently with co-workers. The findings also indicate that the emotional intensity of work relationships decreases the longer one telecommutes. Moreover, richer communication media blunt telecommuting's tendency to reduce the frequency of interactions with co-workers. The findings do not support the notion that telecommuting influences the size of social networks, nor is there any indication that telecommuting and social networks influence job and life satisfaction. This study supports the usefulness of integrating social networks and physical proximity with the role of media richness in organizations. It also brings together two streams of social network research--one focused on relationships within formal organizations and the other on relationships within communities or neighborhoods. The findings suggest to organizations with telecommuting programs that challenges such as gaining upper management support and instituting mechanisms to maintain company culture should be addressed.