Telecommuting: Literature Review and Analysis of Trends

This report delves into the concept of telecommuting, defining it as a technological approach enabling employees to work remotely, such as from home. It highlights the increasing adoption of telecommuting, citing statistics on its growth and prevalence across different demographics and organizations. The report presents a literature review, exploring the benefits of telecommuting, including increased flexibility, productivity, and reduced office requirements. It also discusses the environmental and economic advantages, such as reduced traffic congestion and fuel consumption. The report also acknowledges the potential disadvantages of telecommuting, such as lack of social interaction and challenges in maintaining motivation and discipline. The report examines the impact of telecommuting on both business productivity and employee well-being, providing a comprehensive overview of this evolving work model.

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Telecommuting
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author’s Note

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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................2
Literature review........................................................................................................................2
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................8
References................................................................................................................................10

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Introduction
This report lays down on the topic of telecommuting. The telecommuting is a
technology by which the employees have the capability or working from home (Allen et al.).
By utilizing this technology, the employees can work from the external side of the office or it
may be working from the home or near to the home based location. This technology works
when it can be seen that any employee has been travelling to office and he needs to keep in
touch with the other workers, at this moment he has to work through telecommunication link
like email as well as telephone etc. Though the employees are working from telecommuting
but they can go the office for attending the meetings and keep in touch with the other
employees (Asgari, Hamidreza, and Xia Jin). In the recent timing, according to the analysis,
it can be seen that the growth of telecommuters are increasing day by day. For that, almost
29% of employees are considered as telecommuters (Asgari, Hamidreza, Xia Jin, and Ali
Mohseni). Generally the telecommuters are related with the aged persons whose ages are
almost near about 46 years or more than aged are considered as telecommuters. Moreover,
the telecommuting has more benefits as the employees can able to work with freedom as well
as flexibility and that’s why most of the workers are choosing the telecommuting. Apart from
that, most of the organizations are adopting this telecommuting technology because of its
number of advantages including the increment of business productivity, improvement of the
quality based work, increased the level of the flexibility, integration of additional working
hours and also decrement of the office requirements (Asgari, Hamidreza, Xia Jin, and Yiman
Du). This report shows the literature review ion telecommuting and also shows how the
telecommuting is beneficial for the employees.

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Literature review
Telecommuting is one kind of methodology by which the employees can have the
capability of working from the home and by using this technology they can attach with the
clients as well as customers and also other employers in terms of telecommunication services
such as emails, telephones etc. This telecommuting incorporates the telecommunication
related work centres which are located in the remote locations from which the employees
have to work by telecommuting (Bernardino and Adriana). At the initial timing, some of the
organizations has been considered the telecommuting for some of the employees. But with
the technological advances of the telecommuting, this technology becomes as a mainstream
which holds the organizational business strategy and by using this technology, most of the
employees are working at their home location and often visit their original work station
(Blount and Yvette).
Nowadays, the IT as well as telecommunication related companies are utilizing the
telecommuting technology because it helps to make the production more productive. With the
help of this technology, the employees can work easily at home using computers or other
virtual private networks as well as digital telephone systems etc. These system allows the
employees to make an interconnection with the customers which leads to produce more
business production. By suing these systems, the messages are simply forwarded and the
voice message are sending with email. Mainly, the telecommunication system and other type
of application help to make this technology easier for working at home.
As per the analysis of the Decennial Census, it has been examined that the number of
the telecommuters who are working at home has been increased 4.2 million in the year of
2000 whose rate has increased 92% from the year of 1980 (Christina R. Green). In that
timing, the telecommuting technology played as only the commute mode which drives to
increase the market share. But from the year of 1990 to 2000, this telecommuting technology

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has been grown by 23% which leads the double growth compared to the total workforce.
From the year of 2000, the growth of the telecommuting has been happened (Glass, Jennifer
L. and Mary C. Noonan). It has been analysed from the survey of the American community,
the percentage of the telecommuters in 2000 is 3.2, in 2003 3.5% and in 2006 it was 3.9%.
From the research, it has been studied that the work force of any organization work in their
home location at least one day of each month.
This telecommuting helps to grow the economic as well as environmental or quality
of the life of the workforce of the nation. There are several benefits have been occurred by
this telecommuting technology (He, Sylvia Y., and Lingqian Hu). Some of the benefits are
increment of the mobility, energy or environment related benefits, economic benefits etc.
According to the increment of the mobility, this telecommuting technology helps to
relive the traffic congestion. The traffic congestion is a most concern area in the today’s
world especially for the metropolitan cities. From the year of 1982, the rate of the traffic
congestion has been increased 136% which is 2.5 times faster compared with the freeway
capacity during this same timing (Henke, Rachel Mosher, et al). For that, it happens the
increment of the drivers in especially peak hours. In this crisis period, the telecommuting
technology helps to reduce the traffic congestion by helping the employees of the
organizations are working at their home location. If the employees of the organizations are
working at their homes, it helps to reduce the traffic congestion.
Not only the telecommuting technology helps to increase the mobility but also it helps
in the environment also. Though it helps to increase the mobility that means it helps to reduce
the traffic congestion and for that it is directly proportional with the less amount of
greenhouse gases emission (Kim, Seung-Nam, Sangho Choo, and Patricia L. Mokhtarian).
Generally, it has been known that the driving car occupies lots of energy for conducting the

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driving in peak hours that means the office timing (Kim, Seung-Nam). By consuming huge
amount of energy, it has been reflected on the environment which leads the environment
pollution. The telecommuting technology helps to decrease the traffic congestion and for that
reason it saves huge amount of fuel. Generally, the fuel that means the energy has come from
the environment which actually known as fossil fuel. If it happens the decrement of the traffic
congestion and for that the rate of usage of the fuel has been decreased which helps to save
the energy saved in environment that means the fossil fuel. For that, it helps to balance the
environment by less amount of using fuels. Apart from that, the reduction of the traffic
congestion leads to decrease the less amount of greenhouse gases. The greenhouse gases are
the main source of the air pollution which effects on the environment (Leung, Louis, and
Renwen Zhang). If the telecommuting indirectly helps to decrease of the greenhouse gases
emission, then it effects on the environment.
Moreover this telecommuting provides the economic benefits. Because the
telecommuting offers the employees working at their home. For that, they have spent less
amount of time in the road which leads to increase more working hours. However, the
telecommuting technology helps to reduce time having lost for sitting in the traffic. Due to
telecommuting, it induces the working process at their home location and for that it increases
the working time at home (O'Keefe, Paul, et al.). The increment of the working hours helps to
produce more production which is directly proportional with the increment of the production
of the organizations.
It helps the higher rate of the business productivity. Because the telecommuting helps
to increase the production by working at the home base location and for that it increase the
flexibility at their working as well as also increase the working times which leads to increase
the business productivity. Any kind of organization always wants to increase more
production of the business (Raffaele, Catherine, and Julia Connell). For that, they offers the

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telecommuting to the particular employees who are aged persons or another kind of serious
workers who can able to deal with the clients. Some of the serious condition happen that the
work location has been considered in the remote location and in that place the employees
must work for dealing with the clients for increasing the production. In that case, the
telecommuting helps to increase the productivity of the business.
The telecommuting helps to increase the higher amount of personal productivity. By
utilizing the telecommuting technology, the employees can work at their home location by
using the digital telephone systems or computer systems (Raghuram, Sumita, and Dong
Fang). These systems helps to create an interconnection with the customers for increasing
more production. Though this technology helps to work at home, it saves lots of time which
is spending in the traffic nod for that it helps to increase the more productivity in term if
personal. Though this technology helps to work at their home location and for that there is
access amount of flexibility and the employees can work at any time. In this way, this
technology helps to make the good quality based life (Schall, Marie Antoinette). Usually, in
the metropolitan cities, there are excessive traffic congestion in the road and for that the
employees can lost more times in the traffic congestion. But in the recent timing, most of the
organization has been considered that the employees able to work at their home location to
gain more productivity for the business (Sroka, Alicja). The increment of the mobility and the
productivity both are directly proportional with the increment of the urban area productivity.
According to the mobility, it has been assessed that the telecommuting helps to reduce the
traffic congestion which can help to increase the more working hours. With the increment of
the more working hours, it boost up the productivity at the urban area (Tustin, Deon Harold).
With the help of the telecommuting, the employees can work at the critical situation for their
business of the organizations. According to the analysis of the economic level, it has been

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assessed that the telecommuting helps to effectively increment of the mobility and for that it
induces the increment of the gross product of the business.
Though the telecommuting helps to work a t the home location to the employees, it
helps to the middle as well as lower income based family to earn more money for rising their
economic level. For using the telecommuting services, the employees can earn more money
to strong their economic background. In this way, the telecommuting helps to provide the
economic opportunity.
It has been examined that the telecommuting helps to the employees by working in
their house related location. For that it helps to grow up the business productivity of the
organization. But some of the times, this telecommuting also induces some of the
disadvantages which effects on the business as well as employees personal lives. There are
several disadvantages that are occurred due to use of telecommuting. If the telecommuting
takes place in the society or the employees personal lives. Because of the usage of
telecommuting there occurs lack of the social interaction. Because most of times, the
employees spent their times in the working of the business. For that, they have not exist the
social interaction with the other persons. Apart from that, it has been also known that due to
the usage of telecommuting, there is enough amount of flexibility in working. For that, some
of the times, the employees lost their motivation in working. For working in their home
location, they do not maintain the discipline of the organization. For that, it decreases the
strictness of the regulations of the organizations.
In addition to this, the telecommuting does not compatible for all kinds of jobs
because some if the special kind of jobs requires to be present for the employees for their
working. For an example, the plumbing work or any kind of construction related works, the
workers have to be present in their site location (Zhu, Pengyu, and Susan G. Mason). With

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the help of the telecommuting, the workers cannot work in their home location for this
particular kind of job. But some of the times, this telecommuting technology helps to the
other sectors like medical sectors and others. In the case of medical sector, sometimes, it is
not all time possible for the doctors to be present for the operation cases. In that case, the
internet based phone system, conference calls or video conferencing which helps for
conducting the meeting in the case of operations in medical sectors.
Most of the times, for the telecommuting services, the employees spent most of the
times on doing their office works because they have set a target to achieve the huge amount
of productivity for increasing the business strategy of the organizations. Due to spending
most of the times of doing their office working, the employees may have faced some of the
conflicts in their personal lives. For that, they have detached from their family due to the
involvedness of business working of the organization. Due to the telecommuting services,
though they have a physical presence in their home but they have mentally attached with their
business workings. Due to these reason, there occurs conflict in their family.
The telecommuting helps to the employees for working in their home location. They
have mentally attached with their working to achieve their business target which leads to
increase the business strategy of the organization. In that time, the neighbours have been
forgot that the employees have been working. Several disturbance happens from outside of
the house may be from the neighbours or not. For that, the interruptions from the neighbours
or the family members create disturbance of the workers.
Due to spending time for working in home, there are many non-working related
actions which may be disturbance from spouse or another kind of domestic chores. For that,
the distraction from the working time happens. This reason leads to increase the working time
for completing their business works.

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Conclusion
It can be concluded that the telecommuting is very essential technology which helps
to the employees for working in their homes. In the telecommuting, there are lots of
flexibility in their workings. Apart from that, the employees can access more working hours
to complete their business target. This telecommuting technology helps to increase the
productivity for their business. Also, due to the telecommuting, there occurs the increment of
the mobility that means the decrement of the traffic congestion. For that reason, the business
productivity has been increase more than the previous level and also increase the working
hours. For that, the employees can individually increase their economic level. But some of
the times, there occurs some of the disadvantages due to happening of telecommuting.
Because of telecommuting, there has a detachment of their family members and for that the
conflict in their family arise. Also, this telecommuting occurs the lack of the social
interaction. Moreover, it has been said that the telecommuting service is helpful for the aged
persons for doing the office work sitting in their homes which indirectly helps to save the
environment by avoiding the pollution.

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References
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Asgari, Hamidreza, Xia Jin, and Ali Mohseni. "Choice, frequency, and engagement:
framework for telecommuting behavior analysis and modeling." Transportation
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Asgari, Hamidreza, Xia Jin, and Yiman Du. "Examination of the impacts of telecommuting
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Bernardino, Adriana. Telecommuting: Modelling the Employer's and the Employee's
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literature review." Foundations and Trends® in Information Systems 1.3 (2015): 163-
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Schall, Marie Antoinette. "The Relationship Between Remote Work and Job Satisfaction:
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