Why Do You Care What Other People Think? What did ... - e-du Portal

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1. CSpA. Centre for Spatial Analysis. Center for Spatial Analysis / School of Geography & Earth Sciences. McMaster University. Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Why Do You Care What Other People Think? A Qualitative Investigation of Social Contact and Telecommuting

Robert D. Wilton, Antonio Páez, Darren M. Scott

CSpA Centre for Spatial

Center for Spatial Analysis / School of Geography & Earth Sciences McMaster University Hamilton, Ontario, Canada L8S 4K1

Analysis

E-mail: [email protected]

What did we do? „

Investigated the “social” dimension of telecommuting „ „

How do individuals acquire information? How do individuals make decisions?

Frontiers in Transportation: Social Interactions, Oct. 14-16, Amsterdam NL

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Why did we do it? „

Past research suggests that the decision to telecommute can be influenced by social considerations

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Our simulation research suggests that such considerations cannot be ignored

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Inform econometric model development at a later stage of our research program

Frontiers in Transportation: Social Interactions, Oct. 14-16, Amsterdam NL

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Where did we do it? „

Large, post-secondary educational institution in Southern Ontario, Canada „ „ „

6,500 people employed (1,400 full-time faculty members) Does not have a formal telecommuting program Telecommuting arrangements are negotiated informally within specific departments

Frontiers in Transportation: Social Interactions, Oct. 14-16, Amsterdam NL

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How did we do it? „

Semi-structured interviews with nonfaculty employees who had an opportunity to telecommute „

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Interview guide was prepared for this task focusing on specific themes

Email postings and flyers were used for recruitment 25 women, 7 men interviewed „ „

25 to 64 years (mean = 43 years) 20 departments and various job titles

THEME Why telecommute? Negotiating the arrangement Asking for advice Knowledge of other’s experiences Pros and cons of telecommuting

Frontiers in Transportation: Social Interactions, Oct. 14-16, Amsterdam NL

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How did we do it? „

Interviews were transcribed in full for analysis

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Transcripts were entered into NU_DIST for coding and management

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Themes developed for interview guide were used as the basis for data coding

Frontiers in Transportation: Social Interactions, Oct. 14-16, Amsterdam NL

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What did we find? „

Why telecommute? „

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Concerns about productivity at the office due to unwanted interruptions was the most frequently cited reason for telecommuting

Negotiating the arrangement „ „ „

Attitudes toward telecommuting vary among managers Changes in management can create or remove opportunities for telecommuting Presence of other telecommuters does not necessarily foster its acceptance

Frontiers in Transportation: Social Interactions, Oct. 14-16, Amsterdam NL

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What did we find? „

Asking for advice „

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Half of respondents stated that they had not sought advice from others prior to making a decision about telecommuting

Knowledge of Other’s Experiences „

Conversations with friends and colleagues often took place after a decision was made to telecommute „

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May encourage normalization of the practice

Few conversations „

Possibly related to absence of a formal telecommuting program

Frontiers in Transportation: Social Interactions, Oct. 14-16, Amsterdam NL

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What did we find? „

Pros and cons of telecommuting „ „ „

Increased productivity due to fewer interruptions Loss of face-to-face contact with others, both for work purposes and social interaction Negative reactions from others

Frontiers in Transportation: Social Interactions, Oct. 14-16, Amsterdam NL

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Where do we go from here? „

Extend the project to other organizations with wellestablished telecommuting programs to investigate how organizational situations impact social influences on the decision to telecommute

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Use the results to improve data collection efforts, especially those aimed at obtaining data useful for econometric model development

Frontiers in Transportation: Social Interactions, Oct. 14-16, Amsterdam NL

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