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Who is Teleworking and Where from? Exploring the Main Determinants of Telework in Europe

Author

Listed:
  • Purificación López-Igual

    (Department of Economics, Pablo de Olavide University, Ctra. de Utrera, Km 1, ES41018 Sevilla, Spain)

  • Paula Rodríguez-Modroño

    (Department of Economics, Pablo de Olavide University, Ctra. de Utrera, Km 1, ES41018 Sevilla, Spain)

Abstract

Telework and ICT-based mobile work (TICTM) arrangements have emerged in response to technological changes driven by digitalisation, increasing flexibility within the labour market, and globalisation. As telework becomes more widespread, these flexible models of work are rapidly expanding to new categories of employees, changing the factors traditionally found to be important for telework eligibility. The aim of this study is to gain a deeper understanding of new profiles of teleworkers, examining main factors that increase or decrease the likelihood of different TICTM arrangements. We apply multinomial logistic regression models to a sample of more than 20,000 workers from the 6th European Working Conditions Survey. Our findings confirm the heterogeneity in the profiles of teleworkers, particularly distinguishing by TICTM arrangement. Occasional teleworkers are usually male managers or professionals, but a relevant percentage of highly mobile teleworkers are technicians and associate professionals, while clerical support workers amount to a large group of home-based teleworkers. The majority of occasional and highly mobile teleworkers are still men, but this can no longer be said of home-based teleworkers. The correlations between telework and permanent contracts, full-time jobs, and living in urban areas are weak, showing that TICTM is spreading into more precarious, temporary, and lower-paid jobs, especially among home-based teleworkers and highly mobile teleworkers.

Suggested Citation

  • Purificación López-Igual & Paula Rodríguez-Modroño, 2020. "Who is Teleworking and Where from? Exploring the Main Determinants of Telework in Europe," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(21), pages 1-15, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:21:p:8797-:d:433387
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    Cited by:

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    3. Bührle, Anna Theresa & Nicolay, Katharina & Spengel, Christoph & Wickel, Sophia, 2023. "From corporate tax competition to global cooperation? Trends, prospects and effects on German family businesses," ZEW Discussion Papers 23-027, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
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    5. Jose Alberto Lara-Pulido & Adan L. Martinez-Cruz, 2023. "Stated benefits of teleworking in Mexico City: a discrete choice experiment on office workers," Transportation, Springer, vol. 50(5), pages 1743-1807, October.
    6. Claudiu George Bocean & Luminita Popescu & Anca Antoaneta Varzaru & Costin Daniel Avram & Anica Iancu, 2023. "Work-Life Balance and Employee Satisfaction during COVID-19 Pandemic," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(15), pages 1-15, July.
    7. Luiz Antonio Joia & Lineu Fachin Leonardo, 2023. "The COVID-19 Pandemic and the Digital Transformation of Workplace: The Social Representation of Home-Office," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(20), pages 1-20, October.

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