Date of Award

2008

Degree Type

Thesis

Department

Communication

First Advisor

Jian, Guowei

Subject Headings

Telecommuting, Home offices, Work environment, Communication in organizations, Telework, Work-life balance, Communication, Dialectical tensions, Grounded theory, Working from home, Organizational communication

Abstract

Many of today's organizational employees are turning to flexible work programs, such as telework, to help them balance their work and life responsibilities. Previous research indicates working from home has positive effects, but the same research reveals telework can have a negative impact on work-life balance. There are gaps in the amount and variety of theoretical development in the area of telework. The goal of this research study was to extend the scope of telework analysis beyond technology use by exploring the various tensions teleworkers encounter when working from home, learn how teleworkers alter their communication practices to deal with these tensions, and generate a grounded theory of dialectics of telework. A qualitative research method of interviews, observation, and organizational document review was used to study teleworkers at a professional services firm. The findings helped to develop the Organizational Telework Tension Model, a grounded theory of telework, which claims teleworkers have a perception of how others view them, filtering into the multiple ways they manage the four identified dialectical tensions of telework and inevitably how they communicate with colleagues

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