Teleworking in the Countryside Home-Based Working in the Information Society

This title was first published in 2000. Since the 1970s there has been widespread debate on the potential of information communication technologies on the organization of work and in particular, the implications of and opportunities engendered through telework and the decentralization of the workplace. However, despite the possible spatial, cultural, social and economic implications, much of the telework debate has been informed by anecdotal examples, journalistic reporting and individual forecasts. This book aims to further the debate by analyzing the scale, nature and experience of telework in the countryside. It examines how and by whom, telework is set up, and what policy and social changes are taking place to facilitate it in rural areas. Individual teleworkers and the organizations using them are questioned to assess whether rural teleworking is proving as advantageous in practice as it is thought to be in theory. Its conclusions suggest that teleworking may not yet be the solution to the many rural problems such as unemployment and depopulation and that businesses and local authorities still need to develop their policies and strategies to allow this type of working to reach its potential.

Contents: Introduction and Research Methodology: Telework and the changing rural economy; The information economy and the emergence of rural telework; Research methodology. The Facilitation of and Demand for, Telework: Telecottages and telework; The telework facilitators; The organizational perspective of telework. The Supply of Telework: The motivating factors behind telework; The characteristics and dynamics of telework; The wider experience of teleworking; Summary and conclusion; Bibliography.