Telework: A ‘Family-Friendly’ Work Arrangement

Abstract

Telework is often promoted as a family-friendly' work arrangement due to the time and space flexibility it can provide. This article examines that claim in relation to the private sphere of the home, the site of unpaid domestic labour. Relevant findings from a small qualitative study of six teleworkers are presented. This evidence suggests that while telework can produce favourable outcomes for work/family balance, their extent depends on individual circumstances, particularly gender, h may encourage males to consider their families and to ‘help out’ more, and can assist females to juggle numerous roles more easily. This change in the organisation of paid work, however, does not appear to challenge the gendered division of domestic labour and may in fact reinforce it.