Of the people, by the people, for the people A study of teleworking and BYOD in the Netherlands

In this thesis we look at why teleworking failed to become the norm in the Netherlands and if so, what could be done about it. In the process we investigate what teleworking means to the employee, employer and the government, examining various advantages and disadvantages by drawing from the literature and by using questionnaires. Important aspects of the thesis are various Dutch and European rules and regulations (both written laws and case law) as they apply to teleworking as well as the Bring Your Own Device phenomenon. We examine BYOD both for its own merits but also as a measure of the maturity of the employees’ personal IT systems and knowledge about those systems. In the case of BYOD, in addition to using questionnaires, we also apply the Unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT2) model.
After an in-depth analysis of both teleworking and BYOD, we conclude by suggesting that government action is needed to take teleworking to the next step. In particular we advise removing the applicability of Health and Safety to the teleworking situation, lobbying to change the EU tax laws regarding teleworking, introducing tax incentives for the employer and the employee to promote teleworking and lastly, giving the employee the true right to telework as well as the responsibility for the home workplace environment.