Teleworking in SMEs before the onset of coronavirus infection in the Czech Republic

Abstract

Due to the new information and communication technologies, it is now possible to disconnect work from space and time and to take advantage of new ways of organizing work. One of the options is teleworking (TW), currently being implemented throughout Europe due to the condition created by the coronavirus pandemic. The aim of the paper is twofold: (i) to analyse a range of factors (size of the enterprise; foreign owner; written strategy; project-driven enterprise; disabilities; work-life balance; benefits, lack of workers, illness, lower cost, relax at work and comfort; renting space, IT level) influencing the duration of TW implementation in the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and (ii) to better define the differences between the SMEs where TW was introduced in a short time, and those introducing it over a longer period. Out of the total of 31 factors, six factors have been proved to have a different impact on the duration of TW implementation (TW implementation due to higher efficiency; monitoring is performed only according to the results; the managers see the disadvantage of TW in its possible misuse; the enterprises use internal TW regulations; the managers see the main advantage as higher operational flexibility; the introduction of TW, due to the balance of work and family life). All together, 44,000 SMEs in the Czech Republic were invited into the research. The data were collected from 1,018 enterprises, with 60% of the enterprises using TW actively; on average, these enterprises have been using it for seven years.

Keywords

• teleworking
• career
• Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)
• management
• homeworking