At the European Telework Online website

"Telework 1997":
Annual Report from the European Commission

1. Introduction

1.1 Work and telework in the Information Society

Europe's transition to an Information Society is being marked by profound changes to work. All aspects are being affected by societal and technological developments: the methods used to perform work, where and when work is done, how work is organised, and the content of work. There are also significant changes in relationships - among workers, between workers and employers, and between companies and their customers and business partners.

Accelerating improvements in the availability and affordability of advanced information and communication technologies (ICTs) are providing the basic tool for some of these changes. This is closely related to market demands for increasing the flexibility of work and for a loosening of the traditional ties between work and location. More and more work is performed in new ways, anywhere at any time. We are seeing work increasingly carried out away from the traditional office, whether at home, on the move, in an hotel, at a customer's or trading partner's premises, in a neighbourhood office, a telecottage or a city business centre. We are seeing work carried out so that its timing reflects the needs of the individual as well as the needs of the business, for example to suit the demands of the family or to exploit the possibilities of cooperative work across national boundaries and time zones. We are seeing work being organised in new ways to make the most of the skills of individuals and the market opportunities being opened up. All aspects of work are being reorganised and remoulded in the Information Society, and telework is an important and integral part of these changes.

An important development in awareness over the past year has been a growing appreciation of this broader vision of telework, replacing the previous narrower perception of telework as only being about "working at home instead of commuting". Telework is increasingly being understood and applied as opening new opportunities to increase competitiveness, to provide new employment, and to improve the quality of work experiences for individuals.

In 1997, the increasing take up of new technologies by enterprises and organisations of all sizes and types in support of their everyday activities is simultaneously increasing awareness and understanding of the enhanced possibilities latent in the technology. As people start to use the Internet and new communication systems as an everyday business tool, they start to challenge traditional assumptions about what work is needed to be done, who should do it, how it should be done and where it should be performed.

In parallel with these developments based on teleworking, there is increasing interest and investment in electronic commerce - the marketing, selling and sometimes delivery of products and services across networks. There is a close link between telework and electronic commerce - with online trading providing access to new markets and new customers while telework provides new ways to create and support the products and services these customers require, reduce the cost of provision, and improve service levels to enhance competitiveness. And along with telework and electronic commerce there is growing interest in "telecooperation" - the use of the Internet to develop new kinds of interpersonal and community-of-interest relationships online and to strengthen the cohesion of existing communities. Each of these forms of "tele-activities" is already making a significant impact, often invisible to those who are not connected with and participating in the developments.

Although technology change enables new forms of work, and to some extent - through its wider market impacts - is a driving force for the adoption of telework, it is only part of the story. It seems likely that telework will grow much faster over the next five years than in the previous five years because a large number of other critical factors are now coming together:

• The macro-economy: globalisation of trade and investment, widespread privatisation and marketisation of economic sectors and institutions previously shut off from international competition, and the creation of new and highly segmented consumer markets. Globalisation drives a need for the global reach, enhanced customer support and service, and flexible work networks that teleworking can provide.
• The local (micro) economy: the paradox of the Information Society and globalisation is that "local" is becoming more not less important. It is often said that "geography is dead - long live cyberspace" now that it is possible to locate anything, or to do anything, anywhere because of ICTs. But the reverse is really the case. Because, for example, a firm can locate anywhere, where it actually does locate will depend not on distance or physical accessibility (as it once may have done) but on the type, level and quality of local services, facilities, labour, land, amenities, etc. Above all it depends on local entrepreneurship and prosperity, themselves closely related to the competitiveness of the local economy to which telework can now make a significant contribution.
• The organisation of work: increased competition coupled with consumerism in local as well as the global economy causes enterprise to seek ways to reduce costs, increase capacity and improve customer services by such means as down-sizing, outsourcing, de-layering and re-engineering their business processes. Organisational structures become flatter, management becomes more entrepreneurial and results-oriented and more inclined to challenge accepted norms. Electronic networks enable hierarchical forms and relationships to be replaced by cross-enterprise teams. New kinds of teams work across enterprise boundaries, forming so-called virtual organisations. Flexible working, and especially telework, thrives in such environments.
• Government and public services: similar trends can be detected, often driven by the liberalisation of public monopolies and the search for new and more cost-effective ways to deliver better public services to increasingly demanding and discriminating citizens. In this context, telework can both increase the quality and effectiveness of existing services, as well as provide new and enhanced services, for example by extending their physical outreach through local staff to citizens in remote areas.
• The content of work: in all economic sectors (including manufacturing, agriculture and the extractive industries, as well as in services and the new information industries), information and know-how coupled with individual competence and commitment have become the paramount factors delivering sustainable success. Information is always teleworkable. Know-how can be pooled and shared across networks through teleworking. Individual competence and commitment are optimised by worker empowerment, which includes choices of what work to do in what sequence and where to do it. Of course there are and probably always will be jobs that need the worker to be available at particular times and work in a particular way, but telework is providing a whole spectrum of new opportunities even in such instances.
• The employee: the desire for greater personal control over work patterns and activities is a natural aspect of a more prosperous society and a better-educated, higher skilled workforce. People who use today's technologies to communicate freely and easily with a much wider variety of contacts and across geographical and cultural divides are not willingly constrained to working a traditional office-bound day or to inconvenient, time consuming and expensive travel to an employer's premises. Some will choose to continue in the conventional patterns, but many will adopt the new flexible patterns of telework. They will increasingly choose to work in ways that suit their preferred lifestyles, taking account of family needs and responsibilities, rather than adapting their lifestyles to the demands of work.
• Work relations: as with previous large-scale technology changes, the labour market has been subject to severe stresses and turbulence in the last five to ten years. This has been accompanied by feelings of job insecurity at all levels from the shop floor to the board room, and has lead employers and employees (and their representative organisations, the social partners) to seek new ways to combine the benefits of flexibility for the organisation with security for the individual. Telework provides opportunities to achieve both these goals, for example by enabling people who need to be at or close to home to remain in employment, or job changes to be accepted without the need to uproot the family and move house.
• European and national policies: with job creation consistently high on the agenda, telework (with electronic commerce and telecooperation) presents opportunities to attract work to Europe that would otherwise be done elsewhere and to retain more work opportunities in Europe by enabling employers in areas of high employment to recruit and employ people in places where there is a shortage of jobs and work. Telework plays a part across all of the main policy issues facing governments today - competitiveness, growth and prosperity, jobs, social cohesion and sustainability - as reflected in policies and programmes at every level from the village community to the enlargement of the European Union.

So we see that telework is inextricably bound up with economic, social and political developments on many fronts. The growth of telework results from market and policy developments and contributes to solving market and political problems. But telework is not a panacea, a cure for all ills. When managements, policy makers and individuals make the right decisions, based on sound information and benefiting from useful models and exemplars, telework contributes to prosperity, growth, job creation, job satisfaction and a better balance between work styles and life styles. But ill judged telework projects, or an inappropriate decision to adopt home based working, can have negative consequences.

To maximise the benefits derived from telework and minimise the risks, the European Commission supports a wide range of activities including research, technology development, awareness, the creation of exemplars and the sharing of information and good practice. The Commission also concerns itself with identifying barriers to successful and beneficial telework and with opportunities, problems and threats to specific groups. Many Europeans - including employers as well as employees - still have no experience of telework or of the new technologies, and their natural and sometimes justified fear of the unknown can only be countered by first hand experience with the technology coupled with assurances that their concerns and needs are understood and actions are being taken to deal with them. Understanding what is appropriate as a regulatory and legal framework for telework and other Information Society developments is an important aspect of European work.

Telework, when conceived as working where, when and how it's best, as determined by all the parties involved, is an important component of Europe's goal of putting people first, promoting sustainable growth and competitiveness, and increasing employment opportunities.

1.2 Telework 97

Telework97 provides a snapshot and overview of the status of European telework, and of European Commission activity related to telework, at mid-year 1997. Following this introduction, there are four main sections, contributing to an overall analysis of European telework today, and anticipating future prospects.

Section 2 sets European telework in the context of the emerging global networked economy and the development of a European Information Society. The agenda for this is driven by world wide acceptance and very rapid growth in use of the Internet for both public and private purposes, leading to investment in online marketing, promotion and information delivery via the World Wide Web by companies, governments and individuals and the emergence of "online communities" of people connecting with each other for business or social purposes. These developments are global in nature and take little cognisance of national boundaries. They present opportunities for Europe based on its cultural, economic and trading strengths, but Europe does not yet have a leading role and we need to accelerate our learning curve.

Section 3 reviews the European telework scene, and seeks to present a representative and balanced picture of what is happening, the opportunities and issues. It cannot, in a publication of this scope, be fully comprehensive or exhaustive. Awareness, understanding and appropriate decisions about telework are essential, and this section considers Europe's progress in telework awareness and implementation, as well as examining the main driving and restraining factors. The situation in each member state is briefly examined in the context of European and international developments, and the status of telework in Central and Eastern Europe is summarised. A round-up of major European telework events over the last year, including European Telework Week 1996, is also provided.

Section 4 examines the European Commission's role and initiatives regarding European telework, both in relation to its research agenda as well as its overall policy frameworks. For each of the Commission's major policy areas, activities related to telework are assessed and the stage of work and achievements summarised.

Section 5 looks to the immediate and medium-term future, and particularly at policy development and the market agenda for telework and related tele-activities. Major events and initiatives for the rest of 1997 are highlighted, including the Telework Congress in Stockholm in September 1997, and European Telework Week 1997 during the first week of November.

The annexes include more detailed and structured information, including overviews of telework-related projects, resources and publications, necessary for appreciating the wide ranging nature of telework activity in Europe and the significant contribution being made by the European Commission.

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Page last updated: 24 October 1997