Differences in Perceived Constraints of Telework Utilization among Teleworkers and Office Workers

Differences in Perceived Constraints of Telework Utilization among Teleworkers and Office Workers by Yolanda West MS, Delta State University, 2008 BS, Mississippi Valley State University, 1999 Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Management Walden University November 2016 Abstract Approximately 37% of the U.S. labor force currently works from a remote location. Costs and competition are driving organizations to increase the use of telework among remote workplaces. Increasing organizational knowledge of the perceptions of current teleworkers could increase its adoption by employees and improve its implementation by managers. The purpose of this research was to test hypotheses regarding the perceived levels of telework efficiency, social interaction, and technical support to determine in those perceptions differed between teleworkers and office workers. Goldratt’s Theory of Constraints framed the quantitative research design. A purposive sample of 54 teleworkers and office workers in the Southeastern Division of the USDA received Harandi & Ghafari’s Telework Management Scale. Thirty-eight participants responded yielding a confidence level of 0.95 with an interval of 0.15 given the population of 211 employees in the division. Teleworker scores from the Telework Management Scale were found to be significantly higher than office workers scores for telework efficiency (p=.001), social interaction (p=.027), and overall approval of telework (p=.017). No statistically significant difference existed between the two groups for technical support. The scores of both groups,Approximately 37% of the U.S. labor force currently works from a remote location. Costs and competition are driving organizations to increase the use of telework among remote workplaces. Increasing organizational knowledge of the perceptions of current teleworkers could increase its adoption by employees and improve its implementation by managers. The purpose of this research was to test hypotheses regarding the perceived levels of telework efficiency, social interaction, and technical support to determine in those perceptions differed between teleworkers and office workers. Goldratt’s Theory of Constraints framed the quantitative research design. A purposive sample of 54 teleworkers and office workers in the Southeastern Division of the USDA received Harandi & Ghafari’s Telework Management Scale. Thirty-eight participants responded yielding a confidence level of 0.95 with an interval of 0.15 given the population of 211 employees in the division. Teleworker scores from the Telework Management Scale were found to be significantly higher than office workers scores for telework efficiency (p=.001), social interaction (p=.027), and overall approval of telework (p=.017). No statistically significant difference existed between the two groups for technical support. The scores of both groups, however, were lower than the maximum approval scores of 25 per factor and the overall maximum potential score of 75. Nevertheless, preliminary indications from the findings of this study suggest that the perceptions of current teleworkers could increase its adoption by other employees and improve its implementation by managers. Increasing the level of adoption of telework and improving its implementation by managers could bring about positive organizational, economic, and social changes across the public, private, and non-profit sectors. Differences in Perceived Constraints of Telework Utilization among Teleworkers and Office Workers by Yolanda West MS, Delta State University, 2008 BS, Mississippi Valley State University, 1999 Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Management Walden University November 2016