The Role of Facility Managers in the Diffusion of Organizational Telecommuting

Abstract

This study provides baseline data from a nationwide sample of telecommuting programs in organizations with facility managers. Based on Rogers’ Adoption/Diffusion Theory, the two-phase study revealed a 38% telework adoption rate. The data describe the telecommuting programs, their attributes, and resultant off-site work environments and central office changes. In conclusion, among U.S. organizations that employ facility managers, the rate of adoption of telecommuting is growing steadily, primarily in large, reengineered, and services-oriented firms. The perceived attributes of these programs are (a) their relative advantage as an effective informal method for organizations to attract and retain valued employees and (b) their compatibility with theorganization’s corporateculture. Thus far, thesamplefacility managers’limited involvement in the corporate decision to adopt telecommuting and in evaluating work environment outcomes may constrain their potential effectiveness as telework change agents.

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