Employer attitudes and stated preferences toward telecommuting: an exploratory analysis

The adoption of telecommuting involves two principal categories of decision makers: the employee and the employer. Employee participation in telecommuting programs is in general considered to be voluntary; however, approval from supervisors is required. The employer's decision therefore plays a decisive role in the initiation of a telecommuting program. An exploratory analysis of executives' attitudes and stated preferences toward telecommuting, which are essential to the employer's adoption of telecommuting, are presented. The results indicate that management issues such as employees' productivity, executives' abilities to supervise telecommuters, and data security remain barriers to the employer's adoption of telecommuting. The comparison between the stated preferences of executives and those of employees also shows that executives are more reluctant than employees to adopt telecommuting.