"Telework 1998":
Annual Report from the European Commission
3.4 Denmark
Denmark is among Europe's most highly invested user of IT and PCs, but
until quite recently telework was not a topic of discussion, let alone action. 1997 saw a
complete transformation, with a surge of both interest (in the media, conferences, by
government) and activity, with telework moving from below 1% to between 5%-15% of the
workforce, depending on definitions and survey methods. While there have been many
influences at work to bring this about, one stands out in terms of policy: the decision
that a computer supplied by an employer for private use at home is not a taxable benefit
so long as there is some use for work-related tasks. The fiscal impact of this on
Government revenues is marginal; the value in terms of business and consumer attitudes to
IT in the home is substantial.
Informed observers also report a significant and longer term
socio-cultural shift in individual attitudes to society in general and work in particular:
telework exemplifies this change - ten years ago it was regarded as something imposed by
employers and to be resisted, today its widely regarded as a symptom of greater
delegation, flexibility for the person as well as the firm, self-management and
self-determination. The emphasis has shifted from a collective focus on rights, equality,
hierarchy and bureaucracy to a more personal emphasis on possibilities, alternatives,
decentralisation and greater independence. Relatively low unemployment, high levels of
participation and a high level of part time working appear to support this change of
emphasis.
At a more detailed level, Denmark is experiencing the same issues and
barriers as in other countries where there is general acceptance of telework: management
misunderstanding and lack of confidence, together with a short term focus on terms and
conditions and immediate management issues rather than a strategic focus on the
transformation of enterprises.
3.4.2 Telework background and take-up of ICTs
General background:
- Denmark vies with Sweden for top position as Europe's most intensive and highly invested
use of IT, but until 1996 had relatively low take up of Internet:
| |
IT % of GDP |
IT per capita
(ECUs) |
PCs/100 white
collars |
PCs per 100
population |
Internet
user/100 population |
Denmark |
2.87 |
751 |
64 |
33 |
2.3 |
Sweden |
3.36 |
745 |
75 |
29 |
7.6 |
USA |
4.08 |
870 |
103 |
46 |
10.2 |
- However, Internet use is thought to have accelerated sharply during 1996-1997 and
continuing to grow rapidly in 1998. Recent estimates suggest some 700,000 users have
access, over 13 users per 100 inhabitants. PC use is also further intensifying, bringing
up overall IT investment. There are thought to be PCs in more than half of all Danish
households, which would put Denmark ahead of the USA.
- Employment participation is high, as is part time working, while unemployment is low.
Employment in services is among Europe's highest levels. Denmark has Europe's highest per
capita GDP, other than the exceptional case of Luxembourg:
| |
Pop'n |
GDP per capita
($) |
Labour force
participation (%) |
Part time
working % of employment |
Services as %
of total employment |
Un-employment
(%) |
Denmark |
5.2 |
29,873 |
80 |
22 |
69 |
6 |
Germany |
81.1 |
27,604 |
70 |
16 |
59 |
9 |
Netherlands |
15.4 |
23,966 |
71 |
37 |
73 |
6 |
- High prosperity plus low unemployment mean that skills development, retention of
experienced people, and productivity are the key driving factors for industry.
Driving factors:
- Denmark is rapidly becoming "Information Society prepared", with high and
accelerating investment in ICTs, accelerating Internet take up, a high level of Government
and public awareness, and appropriate pressures on industry to address innovate.
- The removal of tax on home PCs provided by employers for personal as well as work
purposes has sent a clear message to industry and consumers that the Government wants
people to buy, learn about and use IT on a widespread basis. Between 20-30,000 PCs were
acquired on this basis in 1997, with an expectation of around 150,000 in 1998. Many
companies are stipulating that in order to qualify for a home PC, employees must agree to
study for and acquire the "European PC Drivers' Licence", thereby delivering
basic IT skills training on a voluntary basis.
- Trade unions are now largely positive about teleworking, subject to acceptable (to the
unions) terms and conditions based on framework agreements, which are already in place in
some sectors. A common position on telework, providing guidance for collective bargaining,
has been drawn up between the Trades Union Congress and Employers Organisation - perhaps
the first such agreement in Europe and an indicator of Denmark's rapid progress.
- A flurry of surveys and reports have produced largely positive conclusions (see examples
below), and there has been a sharp increase in media coverage, events etc.
- Local and regional authorities are starting to take an interest in telework as a
contributor to local economic and social development.
Constraints:
- The main barrier to progress is lack of understanding and confidence among managers,
confirmed by both private and public sector studies. There is too much emphasis on
immediate, short term issues and insufficient awareness of strategic opportunities and
overall organisational implications.
- Public discussion (and apparently most local managerial thinking) is narrowly focused on
specifics such as terms and conditions for individual teleworkers working at home, and
almost the only model being considered is that of partial home-based teleworking (ie part
of week at home, part in the office). This misses the much more significant (from the
enterprise, economic and general social standpoints) issues and opportunities of the
transformation in enterprise organisation and working methods/locations that is being
enabled by information society technologies and applications and driven by globalisation
and delocalisation.
- There remain some legal and regulatory issues and uncertainties.
Telework activities and results
An explosion of activity has occurred in Denmark, with far too many
interesting developments to report in this summary, which can only select some highlights
and aspects of wider interest.
- Surveys and reports
. Particularly noteworthy are studies undertaken for the
Ministry of Research, the Trades Union Congress, the Business Development Council, the
Danish Data Society (with PLS Consult), the Danish Transport Council and IDC. The usual
lack of a consistent definition leads to wide variations in the reported results. A
conservative estimate is that at least 5% of the Danish workforce already does some
teleworking. Some reports using looser definitions put it as high as 15%.
- Socio-economic analysis
. In a 1997 paper Lars Qvortrup, a leading European
researcher in telework and related fields, concludes that Denmark along with some other
countries has seen a decisive social-cultural shift in recent years, with radical changes
in individual attitudes to society in general and work in particular. Low cost, high
performance technology enables new methods such as telework, but the extent and pace of
take-up are determined by attitudes. The earlier (and quite recent) approach to work was
typified by an emphasis on hierarchical authority, rights, equality, parity of treatment
and bureaucratic, rule-following procedures. The new attitudes focus on delegated
authority or autonomy, decentralisation, empowerment, flexibility, self-determination and
local/individual decisions based on circumstances and possibilities rather than on
preordained rules. These changes are conducive to the relative autonomy of
location-independent teleworking, as opposed to more closely managed work in centralised
offices.
- The TUC study found that teleworking is much more prevalent among non-union members
compared with members. 80% of respondents were positive about the idea of teleworking and
53% would telework if the opportunity arose. 80% of those already teleworking were very
positive about it, citing the freedom of choice about work location and work pattern as
the biggest single benefit, followed by cost and time saved from commuting.
- An important background study by the Danish Business Development Council found that
20-25% of the 1900 enterprises studied have undergone organisational transformation in
recent years, introducing such changes as flatter management structures, self-directed
interdisciplinary teams, networking and value-based management styles. These companies
were, on average, 30% more productive, developed two to three times as many new products,
and created two to three times as many new jobs.
- Telework and organisational transformation is being led by larger, more profitable
enterprises. Small firms are being much slower to respond.
- Since teleworking has only recently become widely accepted in Denmark there is a
shortage of well established exemplars. The case presented is, however, typical of the
Danish concern for work and the family.
3.4.3 Conclusions
From a late start (by Northern European standards), Denmark looks set
to become a leading exemplar of rapid deployment of telework, particularly if the Danish
Government continues to develop innovative approaches to stimulating technology take-up.
The issues of management understanding and a narrow public perspective on the
opportunities presented by telework are common to all countries. As a small but highly
prosperous country Denmark can play a key role in furthering the understanding of telework
in its wider and deeper sense.
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