Establishing an employee leave donation program?

topic  I choose is  

• Establishing an employee leave donation program?

 For this assignment, you will select a topic from a list provided in the assignment instructions, conduct secondary research (or “find literature”) on that topic, and then provide a 1000-1400 word background review and synthesis of the literature that you find. 

consider the problem you will address and conduct research in the library on the topic. 

 sample paper

 

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Teleworking
A review of the popular, trade, and scholarly literature on teleworking has shown three
major categories: the impact of teleworking on employees who telework, the impact of
teleworking on the social and wor
king relationships among all workers, and management
strategies and behaviors that influence the success of a teleworking arrangement.
The Impact of Teleworking on Employees Who Telework
Studies show that teleworkers can feel isolated and detect increased
demands on them as
a result of teleworking. One common theme is stress. Teleworkers can “suffer from heightened
stress and anxiety if it is not easy for them to switch off” (Crunden, 2016, p. 11). Such stress
might be contributed to by longer work hours. T
eleworkers are likely to work more hours and
less likely to work a regular schedule (Noonan & Glass, 2012). In fact, Kossek, Thompson, and
Lautsch (2015) shed light on both increased stress and longer work hours as they identified
several “traps” that can
ensnare teleworkers, including one of “altered work
–
life dynamics” (p.
7).
Employees, they argue, can feel “isolated and distant from the social life of the firm” and,
thus, not feel as much of a part of the organizational culture as non
–
teleworking emplo
yees do (p.
7).  Furthermore, “job or family creep” can intensify with a teleworking arrangement, often
caused by the inability to set boundaries between work and family lives (p. 8). In fact,
“…heavier users of work
–
life flexibility supports actually expe
rienced
increased
work
–
family
conflict” (p. 8). Thus, Kossek et al. concluded that, while teleworking is often designed to reduce
stress among workers, it can often increase stress among workers who are unable to separate
work from family life in a clear f
ashion.

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Teleworkers can also sense a different set of evaluation criteria from that of non
–
teleworking employees. Caillier (2013), in his study of teleworking federal employees,
concluded that employees who chose not to telework did not report that they we
re being
managed for results as much as teleworking employees reported. Caillier surmised that it is
possible that teleworkers are evaluated more on “output
–
based controls,” while non
–
teleworking
employees are evaluated more on “behavior
–
based controls” (p
. 650). It is possible that workers
who telework face more pressure to produce results than employees who work on
–
site.
The Impact of Teleworking on Social and Working Relationships
Among Workers
The literature on the relationships between teleworkers an
d non
–
teleworkers is
mixed.
Some studies show a sense of unfairness on both sides, while other studies show that
social and working relationships are not compromised when some employees telework and
others do not.
However, the results seem to be influenc
ed by the level of intensity that an
employee teleworks.
Some research indicates that tension can result when teleworking is offered. One of the
“traps” that Kossek, Thompson, and Lautsch (2015) identified wa
s the “fairness trap” (p. 8).
Workers who do
not telework can feel unfairly treated if others are allowed to. In such cases, a
clear understanding of why it is allowed for some and not for others is needed. The authors
maintain that if an organization allows teleworking on a case
–
by
–
case basis and de
cides to allow
teleworking for some employees who show a need for it, then employees who do not show an
apparent need can feel slighted. An example they give is while one employee might have elderly
relatives to care for and be allowed to telecommute, anot
her employee who has a pet to care for
might not be given the opportunity to telecommute.

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In addition, employees working on
–
site can feel that more is demanded of them because
they are not teleworking. Kossek, Thompson, and Lautsch (2015) noted that at one
high
–
tech
company, employees were more likely to leave the company because of a perceived need that
they had to be available for last
–
minute tasks due to the fact that they were working on
–
site. In
addition, the authors found that employees felt that they
had to be more flexible to arrange
meetings around teleworkers’ schedules and had to rely on more formal communication methods
like email rather than face
–
to
–
face interactions when communicating with teleworking
employees. The authors concluded, “…co
–
work
ers may resent any apparent favoritism by
supervisors and any appearance that work is being transferred to them because of the flexibility
–
user’s work arrangement” (pp. 9
–
10).
On the other hand, teleworking employees can feel a sense of unfairness
because of a
feeling of higher expectations and social isolation. Teleworking can result in increased
expectations from management. Noonan and Glass (2012) noted that “…the ability of employees
to work at home may actually allow employers to raise expectat
ions for work availability during
evenings and weekends and foster longer workdays and workweeks” (p. 45). Moreover, Kossek,
Thompson, and Lautsch (2015) argued that the physical separation that employees who work
from home feel from employees who work in
the office can lead to a sense of lower respect
among colleagues and management. In an analysis of two high
–
tech companies, they found that
the physical distance teleworkers maintained “reduced the amount that individuals working
flexibly felt respected, a
nd in turn made them feel less like full members of the organization”
(p. 7). This effect is most likely contributed to by the lack of immediacy that teleworkers discern.
Caillier (2013) noted that because they “do not receive the same amount of face
–
to
–
f
ace contact
as traditional workers,…a lot of information teleworkers receive is sent through less rich

5
mediums” (p. 641). Thus, teleworking employees can sense that higher expectations are placed
upon them with lower quality communication channels availabl
e to them.
However, Gajendran and Harrison (2007) found that social relationships among fellow
workers were not compromised as a result of the opportunity for some employees to
telework.
They noted that, in their analysis, “being a commuter does not appea
r to damage
social ties with others at work” (p. 1535). However, it should be noted that their study did show
that the intensity with which an employee teleworks can “amplify a negative or damaging effect
of telecommuting on coworker relationship quality”
(p. 1535). They defined high
–
intensity
telecommuting as working from home more than 2.5 days per week. Thus, their study did
indicate that negative repercussions can occur among employees as a result of teleworking, but
the frequency with which an employee
teleworks seemed to be the pivotal factor. Their results
are echoed by those of Torten, Reaiche, and Caraballo (2016), who concluded that “The most
significant effect on teleworking success was demonstrated by the number of days worked per
week” (p. 325).
Overall, some research shows that a lack of inclusion can create resentment from
teleworkers toward those who are able to work on
–
site, while a sense of unfairness can pervade
the sentiments of employees working on
–
site toward those who are allowed to t
elework. Other
studies conclude that such resentment does not necessarily result from teleworking, but that high
–
intensity teleworking demonstrates a higher propensity for such conflict than low
–
intensity
teleworking.
Management Strategies for Supervisors
Overseeing Teleworking Arrangements
The dynamics mentioned above lead to the conclusion that supervisors have to manage
the teleworking arrangement effectively in order to experience positive results with

6
it.
Management has to be clear on its criteria fo
r establishing teleworking policies, effective in
its methods of including teleworkers in the day
–
to
–
day operations of the office, and generous in
the training offered for teleworkers.
The literature suggests that teleworking should be allowed based on abi
lity and
experience, not on personal need. Kossek, Thompson, and Lautsch (2015) warned, “Managers
should not let an employee’s family status factor into the decision
–
making process when
considering whether to offer workplace flexibility to employees” (p. 9
). Daniels supported this
notion as well, maintaining that teleworking should be an earned privilege (as cited in Freifeld,
2014).
Moreover, management can help create a successful teleworking arrangement by
including teleworkers in the day
–
to
–
day op
erations of the workplace. Crunden (2016) maintained
that teleworkers must “feel like they are part of a cohesive team” and that they should be
included “even where last
–
minute ad hoc meetings are arranged” (p. 11). In fact, Daniels argued
that the level o
f engagement that employees sense is not determined by whether or not the
organization allows teleworking but rather by “management systems and behaviors” (as cited in
Freifeld, 2014, p. 16).
This concept leads to another important characteristic of eff
ective teleworking
arrangements: training. Yost recommends a combination of in
–
person or web
–
based training
meetings (as cited in Friefeld, 2014), while Stanley confirms, “We see more success in
organizations that train managers, telecommuters, and co
–
work
ers in some aspect of teleworking
policy, organizational culture, and senior management’s views on this way of working” (as cited
in Freifeld, 2014, p. 11).

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Conclusion
The literature on teleworking shows that employees who telework can feel isolated and
ca
n often sense a higher set of expectations put on them than those that are put on non
–
teleworking employees. However, analysis also shows that non
–
teleworking employees detect
unfair treatment if the guidelines for when to allow teleworking are not clearly
defined.
Moreover, non
–
teleworking employees can feel that more is expected of them than is
expected of teleworking employees because non
–
teleworking employees are working on
–
site. It
is interesting to note that both groups can feel that more is expected
of them, but for different
reasons. The frequency with which an employee teleworks seems to have an impact on the
significance of such tension.
Management can help create a successful teleworking arrangement by setting clear
guidelines on who is allowed t
o telework when and by providing training on how to
telework.
Research indicates that training programs result in increased levels of success for
companies and organizations that allow employees to work from a distance.

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References
Caillier, J. G. (2013).
Does teleworking affect managing for results and constructive feedback? A
research note.
Canadian Public Administration
, (4), 638
–
654. Retrieved from
http://www.ipac.ca/research
–
cpa
Crunden, N. (2016). Help mobile workers feel less remote.
Occupational Hea
lth
,
68
(6), 11.
Freifeld, L. (2014). Home Improvement?
Training
,
53
(4), 16
–
20.
Gajendran, R. S., & Harrison, D. A. (2007). The good, the bad, and the unknown about
telecommuting: Meta
–
analysis of psychological mediators and individual consequences.
Journa
l of Applied Psychology
,
92
(6), 1524
–
1541. Retrieved from
http://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/apl/
Kossek, E. E., Thompson, R. J., & Lautsch, B. A. (2015). Balanced workplace flexibility:
Avoiding the traps.
California Management Review
,
57
(4), 5
–
25.
doi:10.1
525/cmr.2015.57.4.5
Noonan, M. C., & Glass, J. L. (2012). The hard truth about telecommuting.
Monthly Labor
Review
, 38
–
45. Retrieved from
http://www.bls.gov/mlr/
Torten, R., Reaiche, C., & Caraballo, E. L. (2016). Teleworking in the new milleneum.
Journal
of Developing Areas
, (5), 317
–
326. Retrieved from https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/25