In the latest issue of C&U Journal, Kristin A. Waters, Associate Director of Operations, Undergraduate Admissions and Orientation, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, looks at the evolution of teleworking in higher education. Here she answers some of our questions about her research.
AACRAO Connect: What interested you in this research topic?
Waters: My own personal experience with teleworking is really why I became interested in the topic. My first ever request to telework was not approved by my manager, and as someone who commutes 60 miles a day for work, I was curious to understand why a manager would not approve such a request. So I started to investigate teleworking and educated myself on the benefits, challenges, and genuine concerns of teleworking from a manager's perspective. Coincidentally, it was also at this time that I started my doctoral program and a new job (where I currently do telework occasionally), that the idea of studying teleworking for my dissertation came together. In addition, I currently supervise three remote employees and three telework employees and so I think being educated on the topic is important for my successful management of this team.
AACRAO Connect: Why is it important to this profession, and others?
Waters: Anyone who has read literature on millennials can tell you that this population is constantly connected to technology; their sense of physical space and virtual space are blurred, and they expect work-life balance as they enter the workforce. This population will be entering the workforce rather soon and so it is important for professionals to understand teleworking, and to start thinking about teleworking programs, in an effort to be prepared for the next wave of professionals and to create greater work-life balance for current employees. It's also important for professionals to know about this topic as I suspect that employees are already performing some sort of remote working; with today's technology, we can check email, conference call, and complete tasks from our smart phones, tablets, and mini laptops, and we can connect to Wi-Fi almost anywhere. It's important for professionals to be educated on benefits and challenges and have a firm understanding on the topic to be able to respond to expectations of employees in the 21st, technology-heavy, century.
AACRAO Connect: What do you hope readers will find valuable about this topic?
Waters: I hope that the readers will find this very brief summary on the topic valuable and start to give thought to teleworking on their campus so that they are prepared for when the next wave of employees ask for it. I hope professionals see that teleworking can work; with clear policies, strong management, and technology support, teleworking is beneficial on many levels. Lastly, I hope that readers will see that teleworking can be used as a creative and innovative resource to respond to issues on their campus such as office space allocation, recruitment and retention of faculty and staff, financial savings and limitations, and environmental sustainability.
AACRAO Connect: Did you find anything surprising during your research on this subject?
Waters: Absolutely! When I first started to learn about the topic, I had assumed that this was a relatively new concept, aligning with access to personal computers and the Internet but have since come to learn that this was a concept first discussed as early as the 1950s in the federal government. In fact, the federal government signed a Telework Enhancement Act in 2010, and the outcomes since then have been very enlightening. I've been surprised to learn that while more women support the idea of telework, research suggests that more men telework (this is throughout all industries). While this wasn't a surprise, I've found that teleworking has not been studied or discussed much in higher education and so I think as a field, we need to continue to explore the topic.
Other features in C&U Volume 90, Number 3 include: “Higher Education Preparation and Decision Making Trends Among of International Students by Krishna Bista and Amy Dagley; and “Comparison of Biology Student Performance in Quarter and Semester Systems,” by Brian Gibbens, Mary A. Williams, Anna K. Strain, and Courtney D. M. Hoff.