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Page updated:
25 January 2000
Is there a "right" psychological profile for teleworkers?
This question often arises when companies are considering the adoption of a telework (telecommuting) policy. It is particularly raised in cases where there is management resistance to the idea of "managing at a distance" - the managers won't say "I'm not ready for this", instead they will say "My staff aren't ready for it"! Management resistance is widely reported as the main barrier to widespread adoption of teleworking. However, the same question is also asked by teleworkers (telecommuters): "Is telework right for me?", implying "Am I right for teleworking?".
This FAQ is based on research by Management Technology Associates and Brameur
Limited, supported by the UK Government in 1992 and 1993, and updated in the
light of subsequent experience.
Is there a "right" psychological profile for teleworkers?
Personality is a factor, not the factor
Our research suggested four main aspects to consider in telework policies and programmes:- The task set to be undertaken by the teleworkers, and
whether telework is a good way to do this task set.
- The organisational context; for example it would be foolish
to introduce telework on a general basis in an organisation that hasn't yet
implemented electronic networking (email, online discussion, online notice
boards and libraries etc) successfully, or in an organisation where the
management approach is bureaucratic and strongly hierarchical. Telework works
best where there is a lot of networking, where employees are empowered to act
and think for themselves, where management is by results not by attendance.*
- The domestic (home and family) setting; for example it
would be difficult to telework effectively if the task required close
concentration and the home environment is a small apartment, with active young
children, thin walls and noisy neighbours.
- The individual's personality, experience and preferences;
for example a young unmarried person may prefer to commute to a busy office in
the City, with plentiful opportunities for socialising and new contacts, rather
than work at home in a quiet suburb, whereas an older person, well-settled in a
happy family relationship, may prefer to work at home and be available locally
for community activities in the early evening rather than still commuting.
When does personality matter?
The question of personality and psychological profile is clearly an element in the individual aspect. If all the other factors suggest that telework is appropriate, its still possible that some people may have a personality that makes home based teleworking inappropriate for them personally. Here are some examples:- If the work is unsupervised, home based telework means that the individual
has to apply self-discipline (or at least self-management) to esnure that an
appropriate amount and quality of work is done and that satisfactory results are
achieved. Some people have problems with this, and respond better to the clearer
differentiation between work environment and home/leisure environment that is
provided by commuting to an employer-managed workplace.
- If the work is open-ended, some people react to the unstructured home-based
working environment by becoming workaholics - they find it difficult to switch
off from work, needing the externally imposed pressures of "office
hours" to assist the transition between work time and private time.
- If the work doesn't require regular contact with other people (whether by
phone, email, video or other means), some people feel lonely or isolated when
working privately at home for long stretches of time; they need the camaraderie
of the workplace, even though this may only be a background to the work itself.
- Some people find it easier to focus on work without the distractions of a
busy office environment, while others need the busy surroundings as a spur to
their efforts.
- Some people optimise their performance when they can work at whatever time
suits them personally - early morning or late at night instead of 9 to 5 - while
othere need the routing of regular hours and external prompting to start and
finish work.
- Some people greatly appreciate the time they can save by not commuting,
while others find value in a daily routine of travel, and use the time as a
mechanism for transition from work mode to home mode.
Getting the other factors right
Our experience suggests that its best to focus on the non-personality factors so as to ensure an optimum setting for telework, in which any personality issues will have minimal impact, and then deal with individual preferences and aptitudes on the basis of either personal choice or a voluntary trial period. For the three main aspects:- Task set: Telework is possible for almost any
office based task and for an increasing range of industrial tasks, the question
should be is it appropriate? Or rather, will telework enhance
the way this task set is performed? There's no point in implementing telework
unless it will make a contribution to improving results.
- Organisational Context: As mentioned above, the ideal
organisation is effectively networked, its employees are empowered to act and
thing for themselves with only loose supervision, and its managers are confident
in themselves, the organisation and their staffs. Generally such organisations
gravitate to a fairly informal approach in which telework is regarded as a quite
natural approach for those who prefer it.
- Domestic (home and family) Setting: Here there are both physical and emotional aspects to be considered. Physically, the main requirement is the ability to create a defensible work space within the home, meaning an area where the teleworker can at least partially insulate him or herself from domestic activities when necessary, and such that the teleworker can also "close the door on the work" and not have it as a constantly visible presence and reminder when they are trying to enjoy family activities. Emotionally, its important that telework should be a "good fit" for the rest of the family as well as for the teleworker. It needs to be recognised that the family may take time to adjust to a teleworker who is physically present but mentally preoccupied.
How to cope when its "wrong" for an individual
If an individual is unhappy and/or unproductive as a teleworker, its important to test all three of the other factors before concluding that this is a personality based problem. Nine times out of ten we find that problems with telework can be traced to some aspect of the task set, the organisational context or the domestic setting, rather than to a problem of personality and aptitude. One of the most common problems is that the technologies of telework are not being used effectively, leaving either the teleworker, colleagues or external contacts with a problem of communications. Of course if the problem does come down to a matter or personality, the answer is straightforward - stop teleworking!What about psychometric testing?
We are occasionally asked about psychometric tests (sometimes called "personality tests") for potential teleworkers. Psychometric testing can be helpful in recruitment, in surfacing characteristics for evaluation in interviews, or in screening candidates for particular types of work, for example sales jobs and customer support jobs. Testing could also be helpful to managers and prospective teleworkers, in surfacing potential issues that should be discussed before an individual decides to telecommute as their main work pattern. Psychometric testing methods need to be carefully selected to fit particular requirements and need expertise in their application and interpretation. Qualified people are employed by some companies in their human resources function; there are also specialist companies that can be contracted to supply and administer tests.Other kinds of "tests"
A carefully designed questionnaire can be more widely useful in selecting employees for home-based jobs or in helping managers and staff to make the right decisions about teleworking. A questionnaire that poses the right questions can help the manager and the employee to focus on the issues and provide input for the decision "to telecommute - or not to telecommute".Some ideas about the kinds of questions to ask are included in our FAQ: How Can I Get Work As A Teleworker?