Telework America 2001 Summary
by Donald D. Davis, Ph.D. and Karen A. Polonko, Ph.D.
Old Dominion University

October 2001

AT&T provided funding for this project

This is the 2001 edition of an annual series of reports, sponsored by AT&T and managed by the International Telework Association and Council, that describe the practice of telework in the United States. The data described here were collected in a national survey comprised of 1,170 telephone interviews conducted from July 30, 2001 to August 31, 2001. We find that there are approximately 28 million Americans who are teleworkers that work at home, at a telework center or satellite office, work on the road, or some combination of these. Working at home and on the road, either solely or in combination, are the most common types.

Our estimate of the number of teleworkers in the US is higher than previous estimates because we define telework more broadly than previous researchers. We include two additional types not studied in previous Telework America research, that is, those who work at satellite offices and those who work on the road. Distinguishing types of teleworkers allowed us to discover that important outcomes, such as job satisfaction and employee retention, vary across type of telework. On a variety of variables, those who work from home enjoy more benefits than do those who do other types of telework, especially those who work at telework centers or satellite offices.

About one-fifth of the adult workforce 18 years of age and older do some type of telework. Compared to non-teleworkers, teleworkers are significantly more likely to be from the Northeast and West, male, have higher education and income, work in professional/managerial occupations, and be employed in smaller and larger organizations. Teleworkers are distributed proportionally in comparison to non-teleworkers across marital status, racial/ethnic, and age groups.

Differences between teleworkers and non-teleworkers on multiple measures of work and family conflict revealed a complex picture. Both teleworkers and non-teleworkers that do work at home after normal work hours experience work-family role conflict, but their type of conflict is different. While teleworkers may experience some personal costs, such as working longer hours because they work from home, they also appear to experience significant benefits compared to non-teleworkers in terms of less interference between work and family roles. Perhaps as a result of training or experience, teleworkers may be better able to manage some key aspects of work-family conflict.

The news is good for those who are concerned about the bottom line. Results for all teleworkers combined show that the vast majority of teleworkers report being satisfied with their telework experience; most prefer to continue doing telework. The vast majority are also committed to their organization and do not plan to look for a new job. Outcomes such as these are noteworthy for companies interested in employee recruitment and retention.

Work performance varies across different types of telework. Those who work from home, by far, report the most substantial increase in productivity and quality since beginning to telework. Home-based workers also distinguish themselves from other teleworkers by reporting the highest job satisfaction and organization commitment and strongest desire to remain working in their organization. Interestingly, demographic comparisons across teleworker types revealed that those who have the highest education are significantly more likely to work from home than to engage in other types of telework.

For those interested in the impact that telework can have on issues such as traffic congestion and urban sprawl, teleworkers, on average, drive 5.7 to 18.6 miles per work day to run errands. Not surprisingly, those who are working on the road drive the most miles running errands. About thirty percent of teleworkers move their residence. Of those who relocated, 52% moved closer to their place of employment, 29% moved farther away, and 19% moved to a new residence that was the same distance from their employer.

Methodology: The research -- conducted between July 30 and September 10, 2001 -- consisted of 1170 telephone interviews, representing a national, randomized sample, geographically representative of U.S. households. The Social Science Research Center (SSRC) at Old Dominion University conducted all interviews. The SSRC used a pool of randomly generated telephone numbers to identify households throughout the United States. Random-digit dial methodology ensured the inclusion of households with unlisted telephone numbers. The pool of numbers was purged to remove business numbers. The sample of telephone numbers was stratified to represent the U.S. population for each U.S. Census region of the country. The sampling unit was household, which makes the findings comparable to results reported by the U.S. Census.

While every attempt has been made to ensure accuracy in the data collection and analysis, responsibility for errors rests solely with the authors.

For a more complete understanding of the 2001 report, read the full table of contents, tables and figures.

The full report is available to ITAC members in it is members-only web site. The report is listed in the Telework America forum of the bulletin board section from the members-only site.