Telework and the changing relationship of home and work

This chapter deals with the following three questions: 1) Has the availability of telecoms-related and computer-related technologies been a significant factor encouraging and enabling home-based telework? 2) Is teleworking likely to introduce major changes into the organisation of domestic life, and with what implications for all Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in the home? 3) Will the introduction into the home and use of ICTs for work purposes lead to these technologies being used by household members other than the teleworker and used for purposes other than telework? These questions indicate that our aims are different from the existing literature on telework. They are different in two ways. Much of the research on telework has focused on reasons for and factors affecting the success of this working arrangement. Although our own research may provide insights into these issues our main concern is with the way in which telework could potentially have implications for home life. Second, we address what we regard as the key questions concerning the technologies used by teleworkers