No Place Like Home: The Effect of Telework Gains on Knowledge Worker Productivity

An unanswered question regarding telework is how differences between the office and the home work environment influence the effect of the extent of telework on productivity. Drawing from research and theory on cognitive overload, distraction conflict and environmental comfort, we developed a quasi-field experiment to test the influence of so-called ‘telework gains' (representing telework benefits as a result of differences between the office and home work environment) on the telework-productivity relationship. Three telework gains pertaining to the work environment were tested: distraction reduction gains, satisfaction gains, and control gains. By comparing individual level results that were measured both before and after the implementation of an extensively supported telework program at two organizations (which led to a combined sample size of 298 employees), we found that distraction reduction gains will positively influence the effect of telework on knowledge workers’ self-rated (but not supervisor-rated) productivity. Satisfaction gains and control gains have shown no effect on either self-rated or supervisor-rated teleworker productivity levels. This study provides much needed (quasi) experimental research findings on the relationship between telework and productivity, and may serve as a basis for future studies on the importance of telework gains and work environment-related factors of telework.