E-communication helps homeworkers overcome feelings of professional isolation

Washington, April 19 : A study by two Indian-origin researchers suggests that homeworkers associated with telecommunications organizations rely on e-communication to avoid feelings of professional isolation.

Banita Lal from the Nottingham Business School at Nottingham Trent University, and Yogesh Kumar Dwivedi of the Centre for e-Business Research at Swansea University, UK, looked at how a small sample of homeworkers working in a telecommunications organization were affected in terms of job satisfaction and promotions.

The researchers conducted in-depth, semi-structured interviews with the subjects.

They said their findings challenge some of the received wisdom in the published sociological research literature on homeworkers.

"It emerged that four respondents expressed an interest for career progression and subsequently remained connected to their mobile phone outside of working hours to avoid feelings of professional isolation," said Lal.

"The other twenty-one interviewees did not communicate a similar desire for promotion but remained connected nevertheless," the researcher added.

The team said that while face-to-face interactions with peers, mentors, and one's boss is important, homeworkers no longer consider themselves to be alone after the advent of email, broadband, and widespread cellular networks.

ANI