The Dynamics of Teleworking: Case Studies of Women Medical Transcriptionists from Bangalore, India

Abstract

Although teleworking promises full-time workforce participation within the protective sanctuary of the home, issues relating to work-life balance, identity, career, collectivization, control, trust and commitment remain to be answered. Through the adoption of a multiple case study design and within-case and cross-case analyses, the present work is aimed at generating propositions that could provide insights into the complexities of teleworking. The fi ndings highlighted that although teleworking provides some fl exibility, how time and roles are managed depends on the ages of children, the availability and perceived trustworthiness of support, the family constellation and the number of activities the family member is involved in, against the backdrop of organizational expectations of work output. The attempt to strike a balance between work and family could leave the participants with a sense of strain, offset by gains in terms of reassurance about family well-being and of fulfi lment of teleworkers’ needs and desires to work. Employer controls to ensure quality and quantity of output add to the pressure, while simultaneously facilitating the transition from offi ce-based to homebased work through the provision of direction and focus. Teleworking is considered to be a means of alternatively defi ning one’s career either in terms of a professional orientation, fi nding equilibrium between one’s personal and professional life, or of getting free. At the same time, the absence of traditional organizational referents and of physical proximity did not impede employee collectivization and redressal, even though spatial distribution of colleagues created isolation and loneliness.