Mobile working: inclusion or exclusion in organizations?

Activity: Talk or presentation › Science to science

Description

Being able to work from home has been seen as a solution for women to address their needs for economic capital, as it gives them financial independence. Financial independence also gives then social and symbolic power as full members of society. Mobile work is typically seen as the “advantage” of being able to combine professional work and care work, in other words to work-life or work-family balance. It can also contribute to the inclusion of employees who would have difficulties going to the office, such as women with care responsibilities or disabled employees. Even employees with minority ethnic backgrounds may prefer to work from home rather than being exposed to discrimination on the way to or at work.
On the other hand, working remotely reduces visibility and presence in the office, with mostly negative effects on career development and social capital as well as symbolic capital. Mobile working, especially when teleworking from home, can have a negative influence on work-life balance and cause work-related fatigue. In addition, it may negatively influence motivation and engagement of those employees who cannot work remotely. Instead of promoting diversity and inclusion, it may cause minorities to be absent and excluded from the social and professional network at work. Remote work can also create isolation and work-family conflict, especially for women with care responsibilities.
In our study on the implementation of remote work policies in the administration of a university, we were able to examine the effects of remote work on the teams, on the structural level of the organization, as well as on commitment, career and leadership.
Period9 Jan 2024
Event titleAFAM Africa Academy of Management: 7th Biennial Conference of the Africa Academy of Management
Event typeConference
Conference number7
LocationStellenbosch, South AfricaShow on map
Degree of RecognitionInternational

Austrian Classification of Fields of Science and Technology (ÖFOS)

  • 509011 Organisational development
  • 504031 Diversity research

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