Vol. , No.

, 200x

A STUDY OF ATTITUDES
TOWARDS TELECOMMUTING
OF SRILANKAN
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
SECTOR EMPLOYEES
Kennedy D Gunawardana
Senior Lecturer Department of Accounting
University of Sri Jayewardenepura
Nugegoda Sri Lanka
Tel: 001 94 112931795 Fax;001 94 112801297
kennedy@sjp.ac.lk

Abstract: This research project examines the effects of

demographic characteristics (age, gender, and marital status),
household attributes (travel expenses and distance of home and
workplace), support factors (supervisory support) and
perceived advantages and disadvantages of telecommuting to
individuals.
The sample comprised 238 IT professionals working in several
prestigious software companies in Sri Lanka. Results suggest
that men and women do not differ in their attitudes towards
telecommuting. The variables; Supervisory support, travelling
cost and perceived advantages has a positive relationship with
telecommuting whereas age and perceived disadvantages has a
negative relationship with attitude towards telecommuting. In
addition the study also suggests that marital status has no
relationship with attitudes towards telecommuting. Some of the
findings in this study are align with the international findings
(Teo, T.S.H., Lim, V.K.G. and Wai, S.H. 1998), whereas some of
the findings are divergent to the findings of the other countries.
The researchs main objective is to find out the Srilankan IT
sector employees attitudes towards telecommuting.
(key words; Telecommuting)

1.INTRODUCTION
Telecommuting is the practice of an employee
performing his normal office duties from a remote location,
typically home. Telecommuting can be performed on an
occasional basis or on a permanent basis. The employee
may work remotely as little as one day per month or week
or as regularly as every day with an occasional scheduled
meeting at the company office. The other term for
telecommuting is teleworking, putting more emphasis on
the work, not the travel. These terms will be used
interchangeably in this research.
In an increasingly challenging economy, organizations are
looking for ways to improve the bottom line. To compete
effectively in global markets, they are streamlining

Copyright 200x Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.

K.D.Gunawardana

operations, downsizing organizational structures and

reducing overhead costs and travel expenses. To meet higher
customer expectations for quality and service, they are
looking for ways to get their employees closer to the people
they serve and to help them achieve better results with fewer
resources and in an increasingly tight skilled-labour market,
they are looking for benefits that will help them attract and
keep good workers and tap into new labour markets like
part-time, semi-retired, or disabled workers.
Going to work doesn't always mean going to a traditional
office. Along with the changing nature of organizations, the
workplace environment has undergone a dramatic change.
Organizations have realized the impact of the work
environment on the organizational effectiveness as well as
the employees morale. As a solution for this,
telecommuting is becoming a critical tool for achieving a
competitive advantage. Innovative workplace strategies are
being introduced by increasing numbers of organizations
with expectations to improve organizational effectiveness as
well as to reduce facilities costs and alternative work
options are expected as a part of compensation to attract or
retain both employees and customers. This trend is made
possible mainly through the developments in information
technology (IT) which makes remote work from the main
office both feasible and desirable.
In the late 1970s and the 1980s, teleworking was perceived
as the work arrangement of the future. Commentators then
predicted the large-scale implementation of teleworking at
the end of the 1980s and in the early 1990s .The teleworking
boom, however, has not yet taken place. This is
surprising, as recent developments in information and
communication technology (ICT) have reduced the
coordination and control costs associated with the
geographic decentralization of the work forces location,
especially in large, service organizations. The centralization
of staff in a single office is no longer necessarily the most
efficient way to organize economic activities.
More and more large corporations are discovering the
benefits of today's well-proven Alternative Officing
Strategies (Telecommuting). Even as you read this,
hundreds of them are working hard to convert hard, rigid,
hierarchical office workspaces into soft, flexible, interactive
office environments and that have proven so effective at
increasing productivity, lowering costs, and bolstering
employee satisfaction.
Telecommuting is not a widely discussed topic in Srilankan
Business Organizations. It is yet a new and alien
phenomenon as far as Sri-Lanka is concerned. Since the
commercial capital, Colombo and its suburbs are equipped
with adequate technology for implementing telecommuting;
it is inevitable for organizations to start adapting to these
strategies because of the positive results it has given. In
order to keep pace with changing business environment SriLanka will start stepping in to this new and innovative
employee working environment in the near future.
Naturally, there are speed-bumps on this road to the future.
Some employees feel uncomfortable when asked to give up
their permanent desk at work, and some supervisors become
resentful when their corner offices are cannibalized and
turned into shared workspaces for the employees they

supervise. A large proportion of competent employees are

reluctant to relocate to a rural area even for a dream job for
fear that within a few years layoffs or natural career
progress will leave them out of work, living in a region with
few if any suitable opportunities.

1.1 Research Setting

The industry under this study would be the Information
Technology industry. This is a growing industry in Sri
Lanka and has the most potential to implement the concept
of Telecommuting. Out of the other manufacturing and
service industry, the reason to choose the IT industry is
because of its high potential compared to others. This dose
not means that IT is the only industry that telecommuting
could be practiced; there are many others such as
consultancy, advertising, auditing, merchandising etc. As
mentioned above the Sri Lanka IT industry will be the
industry under study on this research and we will be only
concentrating on the Software sector in this particular
industry.
There are many Software firms in Sri Lanaka. All the
software companies are listed on the membership directory
of the Sri Lanka Association for the Software Industry
(SLASI). There are 8 organizations with more than 100
employees. This research study will be concentrated on 5
software firms which has more than 100 employees. 3 of the
companies chosen are the top 3 software companies in Sri
Lanka. The reasons for selecting only 5 companies are:
(1)
To meet the sample population
(2)
To reduce the level of biasness concentrating only
on one firm
(3)
To get a broader and better view of IT employees
attitude towards telecommuting.

1.2

Problem Statement

Sri-Lanka is not yet very familiar with the telecommuting

concept. This Strategy is mostly practiced only on
telemarketing, which a marketer sells products over the
phone. This is not the exact area which this study will cover.
The study is mostly concentrated on knowledge workers,
working at home. Telecommuting is the act of using
telecommunications technology to bring work to the worker,
eliminating the need to travel to a common work site in
order to perform job functions. Since this is a fast growing
trend in the business world it would arrive to Sri-Lanka in
the near future. Countries like Hong Kong, Thailand,
Malaysia and India are already practicing these techniques.
Studies regarding telecommuting have been carried out
before and after implementation of telecommuting in these
countries. Many telecommuting studies have been
conducted in the west and other Asian countries too. Since
we expect our country also to implement this innovative
work place strategy, this study would be to identify the
attitudes of the Srilankan IT sector employees to adapt to
telecommuting.
Therefore the research question would be:

A STUDY OF ATTITUDES TOWARDS TELECOMMUTING OF SRILANKAN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SECTOR EMPLOYEES

What are the attitudes of Srilankan IT sector employees

regarding adapting to telecommuting?

1.3

Objectives

The objectives of conducting this research study are to find

out the following;
[1] To find the employees
telecommuting concept.

attitude

towards

the

[2] To find the relationship between demographic variables

(age, gender and marital status) and attitudes towards
telecommuting.
[3] To find the relationship between household attributes
(travel expenses and distance to work) and attitudes towards
telecommuting.
[4] To find out how perceived advantages and
disadvantaged regarding telecommuting would affect
attitudes towards telecommuting.
[5] To find out what kind of relationship supervisory support
has towards attitudes towards telecommuting.
[6] To give recommendations that would enable a better
future for our country by helping the organizations plan and
implement a telecommuting programme and increase
employee efficiency with the analyzed results.

2.0

be identified (Pinsonneault and Boisvert, 1996): utilization

of information technology (IT), link with an organization,
and de-localization of work.
Recently, it has been suggested by several futurists that the
traditional office environment of the past, wherein all of the
firms employees gather for work in a single location, may
become obsolete. They have suggested that the workplace of
the future will be the Home Office (HO) enabled through
the concept of telecommuting and the personal computer
(Rowe, 1991). In one research it says telecommuting is
suitable for employees who work with flexible work hours
and with a low degree of supervision (Rowe, 1991). These
employees would not physically travel to the employers
office space daily, but rather they would commute via their
personal computer and its modems connection to a
telephone line and the employers computing facility.

3.0

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

The sampling design used was a probabilistic sampling

method. Firstly only companies registered under Sri Lanka
Association for the Software Industry (SLASI) was
considered. Then only companies which had more than 100
employees were chosen. Finally the sample comprised of 5
software companies including 3 top software companies and
1 with less than 100 employees. A sample of 277 was
selected due to the reason that the population of all five
software companies dose not exceed 1000 employees.
Figure 3.1: Data Sampling
Total
Sample
Size
[277]

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

The term telecommuting is not one that is clearly

defined, and it is often used to encompass a number of
different styles of work. In other words, various
terminologies for the subject have been used in the
literature. Usually, the term teleworking is used as a more
general concept. Although telecommuting is used more
often, networking, remote working, flexible working and
homeworking are among those concepts that are used with
similar or same meanings (Lindstrom and Rapp, 1996;
Hobbs and Armstrong, 1998; Ward and Shabha, 2001; Obra
et al., 2002). Collectively, these phrases describe
teleworking as a form of flexible work arrangement which
entails working remotely from an employer for a large
proportion of employees time (Teo and Lim, 1998: 254).
Telecommuting can be defined as the practice of working
from home, or a location close to home, instead of travelling
to work during the normal workday (Stanek and
Mokhtarian, 1998: 53). In other words, telecommuting can
be practiced as either home based or from a telecommuting
center.
Telecommuting can be defined as a work arrangements in
which employees perform their regular work at a site other
than the ordinary workplace, supported by technological
connections (Fitzer, 1997, p.65). Telecommuting represents
an expansion of the places and times considered auspicious
for work. Three principal components of telecommuting can

Virtusa
Sample size
[96]
400 employees

24%

MIT
Sample size
[55]
220 employees

25%
25%

IFS

hSenid

Wso2

Sample size
[37]
180 employees

Sample size
[26]
100 employees

Sample size

20%

26%

[24]
100 employees

24%

Data for this study was collected through the use of

questionnaire surveys. Before the questionnaire was
finalized, a pilot test was carried out with 20 IT personnels.
During this stage some questions, which were proving to be
difficult to understand, were rephrased, while others, which
were considered peripheral by the respondents, were
dropped. The instrument was also presented to the top
management of all the 5 selected companies to obtain
feedback concerning the clarity of instructions and to ensure
the questions were appropriate and applicable to the IT
personnels work context. Comments and suggestions were
then used to fine-tune the final questionnaire.
Liaison persons were appointed to all the 5 selected
companies to distribute and collect the questionnaires. The
liaison person was briefed on what telecommuting is so that
he can explain it to the respondents in case they did not

K.D.Gunawardana

know what it exactly meant. A total of 280 questionnaires

were distributed and 244 were returned back. 6
questionnaires were not used due to incomplete responses.
The remaining 238 were used in the final data analysis,
thereby yielding a response rate of about 85 per cent which
is relatively higher than the norm of 56 per cent for studies
utilizing a questionnaire survey. (Baruch, 1999)

3.1

Research instrument

Items measuring variables in this study was derived from an

extensive review of literature on telecommuting, attitudes
towards
telecommuting
and
productivity
and
telecommuting. Wherever possible scales that operationalize
constructs were adopted from past research where
psychometric properties were already established.
3.1.1
Perceived advantages and disadvantages of
telecommuting to individuals
These variables were measured from scales adopted from
Yap & Tng (1990). Items in this scales were anchored on a
five point scale ranging from 1 (strongly agree) to 5
(strongly disagree). Perceived advantages were measured
through 14 items and the Cronbachs alphas for these were
0.7882. Perceived disadvantages were measured through 7
items and the Cronbachs alpha for it was 0.7134.
3.1,2
Supervisory support
A total of 11 variables are used to measure supervisory
support. A five point scale ranging from 1 (strongly agree)
to 5 (strongly disagree) is used for this purpose. The
Cronbachs alpha for this was 0.7612.
3.1.2
Attitudes towards telecommuting
Respondents were asked a series of questions about
teleworking, for example weather they have a favourable
attitude towards teleworking measured from a six points
scale ranging from (1) extremely against to (6) extremely in
favour; weather they are likely to opt for teleworking
measured on a6 points scale ranging from (1) very unlikely
to (6) very likely. The Cronbachs alpha for the likert scale
questions asked under the attitude towards telecommuting
was 0.8571.

The entire data analysis was done using SPSS version 11.0.
In addition to the descriptive statistics, other statistical
techniques were used. For all the supplementary data
analysis, the views of the same individuals were
investigated.

4.0

Model development
To empirically test the postulated hypothesis, a stepwise
regression analysis was performed. A summary of the
stepwise regression analysis is shown below.

3.1.3
Current working environment
In addition respondents were asked a series of questions
about there current working environment. Five point likert
scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly
agree) were used to measure the variables. The Cronbachs
alpha for this was 0.6993.
3,1,4
Demographic individual and household attribute
data
The respondents were also asked to provide there age,
gender, martial status, if they have children living with
them, how long it takes to get to work and how much
approximately they spend on travelling to work per month.
Questions such as how long have you been using
computers at work were also asked.

3.2

Data analysis

RESULTS AND FINDINGS

The above table shows the Pearson-product moment

correlation between the independent and dependent
variables. This table also contains the means, slandered
deviations and reliabilities of the scales used to assess the
variables in this study. An examination of this correlation
matrix reveals that the dependent variable, attitude towards
telecommuting (ATT) is correlated with 5 variables out of
10. Attitude towards telecommuting is positively correlated
to; how much is approximately spent on travelling
(HMASTW) (r = 0.206), supervisory support (SSUP) (r =
0.152) and perceived advantages (PAD) (r = 0.154). This is
consistent with findings from other studies on teleworking.
In addition the relationship between attitude towards
telecommuting is negatively correlated to age (r = -0.137)
and perceived disadvantages (PDS) (r = -0. 231).
The study also reveals many relationships between
independent variables themselves. Some interesting findings
are the relationships between gender and perceived
advantages and disadvantages. A possible explanation for
this could be more females might agree more on perceived
advantages such as wear whatever cloths they wish while
working, save money on clothing, cologne and perfume,
spend more time with spouse and children and avoid contact
with difficult bosses. More males would agree on perceived
advantages such as, freedom to work alone and undisturbed,
lower work related stress and eat home prepared food rather
than fast food.
As expected there is also a correlation of a high significant
level between marital status and having children with them
currently.

Table 4. 1: Model Summary

Model Summary
Model
1
2
3
4
5

R
R Square
.231
.053
.324
.105
.372
.138
.396
.157
.428
.183

Adjusted Std. Error of

R Square the Estimate
.049
.67825
.097
.66095
.127
.64982
.143
.64409
.165
.63551

Y = 0 + 1 X1 + 2 X2 + 3 X3 + 4 X4 + 5 X5

A STUDY OF ATTITUDES TOWARDS TELECOMMUTING OF SRILANKAN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SECTOR EMPLOYEES

Where;
Y= Attitudes towards telecommuting
0 = C = Constant
X1 = Perceived disadvantages (PDS)
X2 = How much is approximately spent on travelling
(HMASTW)
X3 = Supervisory support (SSUP)
X4 = Age
X5 = Perceived advantages (PAD)
4.2: Regression Model 1
The regression model 1 shows that there is a relationship
between age and attitude towards telecommuting. Under this
model it reveals only the relationship of x1 variable.
4.2

Regression Model 2

The R2 of regression model 2 is 9.7%. The analysis shows

that there is a relationship between attitudes towards
telecommuting and how much is approximately spent on
travelling; this is in addition to the relationship between
attitudes
towards
telecommuting
and
perceived
disadvantages.
4.3 Regression Model 3
The regression model 3 has a R 2 value of 12.7% and an Fvalue of 12.481. It also shows 3 variables which has a
relationship with attitudes towards telecommuting.
They are perceived disadvantages, how much is
approximately spent on travelling and supervisory support.
4.4 Regression Model 4
The results of regression model 4 shows a R 2 value of 14.3%
and F value of 10.819. There are 4 variables which has a
relationship with attitudes towards telecommuting. They are
perceived disadvantages, how much is approximately spent
on travelling, supervisory support. How much is
approximately spent on travelling and supervisory support
has a positive relationship whereas perceived disadvantages
and age has a negative relationship.
4.5

Regression Model 5

After analysing the entire five regression models model 5

was chosen for the hypothesis testing. This is due to the fact
that it has the highest R2 value which is 16.5 %. The
regression equation was carried out for all the significant
variables which are perceived disadvantages (PDS),
Travelling cost (TRVCO), supervisory support (SSUP), age
and perceived advantages (PAD).
The revised model which was derived from model 5 was
finally chosen to test the hypotheses.
5.0

Hypothesis testing

5. 1
Gender
H01.There is no relationship between gender and attitude
towards telecommuting
Ha1.There is a relationship between gender and attitude
towards telecommuting
The null hypothesis for gender was selected as there proved
to be no relationship between gender and attitude towards
telecommuting. This is an interesting finding and it is
contrary to the claims of some studies which state that
technologically driven facilities such as telecommuting are
primarily perceived as masculine (e.g Wilson 2002). One
plausible reason for this could be the disparity of the
response rate of males and females which was 69% and
31% respectively. The finding also shows that majority of
the males have a favourable attitude towards
telecommuting. The reason for this may be most of the
educated Srilankans are changing their views of traditional
roles of males and females. For instance men are beginning
to be more involved in child-care responsibilities and
household chores. In particular better educated men are
willing to participate in household chores and child-care
activities.
5. 2
Marital status
H02.There is no relationship between marital status and
attitude towards telecommuting
Ha2.There is a relationship between marital status and
attitude towards telecommuting
The study shows that married and unmarried employees do
not differ in their attitude towards telecommuting. Therefore
the null hypothesis was accepted and the alternative
hypothesis was rejected. In previous studies too marital
status was only marginally supported and had a very weak
relationship.
A possible explanation for no relationship could be the
emergence of many smaller families with only one or two
children. Married employees may not need to telework
simply to take care of their children as they could seek
child-care facilities or even allow grandparents to look after
the children. Most married employees prefer to live with or
near their parents or parents-in-law. In such situations,
grandparents could help to take care of their grandchildren
while their parents are working. Most of the working class
Srilankans also have maids to take care of household chores.
5.3
Age
H03. There is no relationship between age and attitude
towards telecommuting
Ha3.There is a relationship between age and attitude
towards telecommuting
Our study shows that there is a relationship between age and
attitude towards telecommuting since the significant level
shows a p-value of (0.005) and value of (-0.187).
Therefore the null hypothesis was rejected and the
alternative hypothesis was accepted.
Some investigations showed that younger employees
favoured telecommuting more than older employees (Teo et
al., 1998: 335). The reason of this largely is the feeling of
job insecurity. Older employees also feel that if they remain

K.D.Gunawardana

home and work they will be deprived of company benefits

they are eligible for. Some studies also articulate that they
are more productive at a traditional office rather than home
due to disturbance from young kids. As a result the older the
employee he/she will have a negative relationship to
teleworking.
5.4

Household attributes

H04.There is no relationship between travelling cost to work

and attitude towards telecommuting.
Ha4.There is a relationship between travelling cost to work
and attitude towards telecommuting
Results of the regression analysis reveal that there is a
relationship between how much is approximately spent on
travelling and attitude towards telecommuting. The
significant level shows a p-value of (0.04) and a value of
(0.103). The more the employee spends on travelling to
work there is a positive relationship towards telecommuting.
As a result the more the employee has to spend on travelling
to work his positive attitude towards telecommuting will
increase.
5.5
Supervisory support
H05.There is no relationship between supervisory support
and attitude towards telecommuting
Ha5.There is a relationship between supervisory support and
attitude towards telecommuting
The hypothesis: Ha. There is a relationship between
supervisory support and attitude towards telecommuting is
also empirically supported. Therefore the alternative
hypothesis is accepted with a significant level of (0.021) and
a value of (0.217). This findings indicates that employees
are concerned about how much supportive will there
supervisors be if they agree to telecommute. Studies show
that there should be a good employee supervisor
relationship in order to telecommute. Empirical evidence in
the social support literature suggests that support from
supervisors and work colleagues (work-based support) is
very important in influencing an individual's attitude
towards teleworking. Yap and Tng (1990) found that
employees who perceived their supervisors and work
colleagues as supportive were more likely to favour
teleworking. Past studies revealed that management
philosophies and supervisors' attitudes towards teleworking
play a critical role in the success of a teleworking
programme (Solomon and Templer, 1993; Prystash, 1995)
Hartman et al. (1992) found that satisfaction with
teleworking was significantly related to positive support and
understanding from teleworkers' immediate supervisors.
Teleworkers regarded their supervisors' understanding,
concern and acceptance of them teleworking as valuable and
important to their teleworking attitudes. Such results
highlight the crucial role supervisory support plays in
promoting and creating a favourable attitude towards
teleworking.

Ha6. There is a relationship between perceived advantages

and attitude towards telecommuting
Results of the regression analysis reveal that there is a
relationship between perceived advantages and attitude
towards telecommuting, thus lending support to Ha6. There
is a relationship between perceived advantages and attitude
towards telecommuting. ( = 0.07, p= 0.232). This finding
suggests that more advantages perceived by the individual
towards telecommuting they tend to have a more favourable
attitude towards telecommuting. Most of the respondent
perceive increased autonomy over work schedule and
reduced time on the road as important in influencing
peoples attitude towards telecommuting. This leads us to
conclude that the more potential advantages occurring from
telecommuting to individuals; it will positively affect the
attitude towards telecommuting. This finding is in line with
the findings of Teo and Lim (1990).
5.7
Perceived disadvantages
H07.There is no relationship between perceived
disadvantages and attitude towards telecommuting
Ha7.There is a relationship between perceived disadvantages
and attitude towards telecommuting
The study reveals that there is a relationship between
perceived
disadvantages
and
attitude
towards
telecommuting. ( = -0.448, p = 0.000). This shows that
individuals attitudes towards telecommuting are
significantly and negatively affected by their beliefs about
disadvantages associated with telecommuting. For instance,
telecommuting may cause professional and social isolation.
Individuals may perform their tasks independently at home
by means of telecommuting but since telecommuting
reduces their workplace interaction they may still be
hesitant towards telecommuting. As such, individuals who
perceived a potential reduction in workplace interaction
may have a less favourable attitude towards telecommuting.
In addition, individuals may get confused with home and
work responsibilities. Also they may experience difficulties
in establishing self-discipline and motivation for their tasks.
Furthermore, they are concerned with the potential loss of
office workspace if they telecommute. As a result, as
potential disadvantages accruing from telecommuting to
individuals increase, they will have a negative attitude
towards telecommuting. This finding is in line with the
findings of Teo and Lim (1990).
5.8

Summery of hypothesis

When empirically testing the above hypothesis most of them

were significant and had a relationship with attitude towards
telecommuting. 2 of the hypothesis did not have a
relationship with telecommuting. Most of our findings go
along with the past findings. The null hypothesis was
accepted for gender and marital status.
6.
CONCLUDING
RECOMMENDATION

5.6
Perceived advantages
H06.There is no relationship between perceived advantages
and attitude towards telecommuting

COMMENTS

AND

This study extends the telecommuting literature by

examining a wide range of factors which may affect IT

A STUDY OF ATTITUDES TOWARDS TELECOMMUTING OF SRILANKAN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SECTOR EMPLOYEES

professionals' attitudes towards teleworking. Results of the

regression analyses suggest that those who perceived more
advantages accruing from teleworking to themselves will
have a more favourable attitude towards telecommuting. On
the other hand, those who perceived more disadvantages
accruing from teleworking to themselves will have a less
favourable attitude towards telecommuting. Interestingly,
our results suggest that men and women do not differ in
their attitudes towards teleworking.
It should be taken into consideration that telecommuting is a
very new work environment, especially in the context of Sri
Lanka, and thus employees may not be sure about how their
supervisors would react to telecommuting. This means that
the forecasts of future telecommuters are simply that they
are only forecasts. Quite possibly, individual workers and
managers may determine the challenges of telecommuting
outweigh the advantages and thus decline to set up
telecommuting alternatives.
In addition, since this work option is very new, individuals
may not perceive this as a favourable work option where
traditional norms are predominant, because in a country like
Sri Lanka in which masculinity culture is prevailing, a man
working at home may be perceived as not having a
respectable job by family and neighbours. Nonetheless, in
the face of this phenomenon, small businesses, large
corporations, government departments and the public at
large must help to develop policies to address the needs,
challenges,
and
ramifications
associated
with
telecommuting.
An important limitation of the study is, respondents
comprised 238 IT professionals working in several software
companies in Sri Lanka. Therefore it is necessary to
investigate whether these findings can be extended to other
professional groups or non-professionals employed in other
industries. As a result, examination of the topic in the future
could be directed towards individuals employed in other
potential industries.
Telecommuting is not a universally accepted work style; it
may never be. If telecommuting is to grow in acceptance,
information technology sector managers and employees
must take a more positive attitude toward adoption of
telecommuting programs. The focus is on IT sector is due to
the fact that it has the most potential to implement it and
most of the organizations who telecommute in the world are
IT sector companies. By minimizing the negative factors
affecting telecommuting and maximizing the advantages of
it to individuals and organizations it could be made an
acceptable work arrangement in the future Sri Lanka.
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on
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(2)
Handy, S.L. and Mokhtarian, P.L. (1996). The Future
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(3)
Hobbs, D. and Armstrong, J. (1998). An Experimental
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(4)
Illegems, V., Verbeke, A. and SJegers, R. (2001). The
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(5)
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