A STUDY ON TELEWORKING IN A UNIVERSITY SETTING – A CASE FROM IIUM[1]

ABDUL AZEEZ KADAR HAMSA, PHD

Assistant Professor

International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM)

Jalan Gombak, 53100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Tel: 603-2056 5286; Fax: 603-2056 4864

email: or

ABSTRACT

The evolution of industrial era during earlier decades has contributed imperative changes in the modern world. A number of innovating machineries has been created to produce value-added products to compete in the much more competitive world to increase the production output. This is attributed mainly to remain vigilant to surge the economy of the different nations. The work tasks are largely centralized during industrial era, which needs constant regular commuting to perform work-related tasks. This has eventually increased the number of commute travel being made to the central workplace significantly. The evolution of information age with affordable information technology tools has changed this trend to a greater extent. It allows flexibility to perform work-related tasks at any convenient places other than central workplace. Teleworking or Telecommuting is one such concept under the umbrella of information era. The growth of teleworking in many industrialized countries has been found to be significant because of number of advantageous factors being associated with it. Greater flexibility, reduced travel, increased family care are few among them. The concept of teleworking begun in Malaysia in the early 1990’s mainly because of the advancement in Information and Communication Technology and the aspiration of the government to turn the nation into an knowledge-based community. Hence, the concept of teleworking in Malaysia has been growing gradually since 1990’s. The practice of teleworking could be effectively introduced in many different organizations including Universities. The success of implementing teleworking in a University is very high as it employs a higher number of researchers. A study was conducted to explore the potential of introducing teleworking at International Islamic University Malaysia. This paper investigates the possibilities of introducing teleworking in a University as perceived by the potential teleworkers. It also highlights the socio-economic indicators of the potential teleworkers. It introduces the extent in which teleworking would reduce the requirement of parking spaces in the University. Finally, conclusions were also drawn.

Keywords: Teleworking, teleworkers, Multimedia Super Corridor, Information and Communication Technology

1.0INTRODUCTION

Information age, an era in which Information and Communication Technology plays a very vital role in performing office and office-related activities. People perform their daily work both at inside and outside their office premises using ICT tools. It provides many advantages to the office workers such as flexibility, ease of use, productivity, communication capability etc. In recent days, the penetration of ICT tools has found to be expanded largely in offices, business enterprises and households because of its availability at an affordable cost. It also allows people to work at places where they are stationed rather than at central workplaces mainly located at the Central Business District (CBD) of a city. Teleworking, a commonly used term in Europe or Telecommuting in United States, is a work phenomenon which allows people to work at a decentralized workplace rather than centralized workplace. It has been found in recent years that teleworking is also applicable to mobile workers, sales persons, freelancers such as journalists etc. Teleworking has grown significantly in early years during 1970’s and 80’s especially after its inception in 1970 3 because of its associated advantages such as flexibility, productivity, savings in commute time, cost, more time with family members etc. However, in recent years the growth of teleworking has found to be slowed down in many countries because of few known factors. Personal interactions, direct supervision, are few among them.

The idea of teleworking in Malaysia was formally begun in early 1990s in tandem with the government’s initiative to create an information and knowledge-based society. The National Telecommunications Policy (NTP), National Information Technology Council (NITC), National Information Technology Agenda (NITA), Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) development were launched mainly to promote the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) among the societies. However, the research on different facets of teleworking in Malaysia is still expected to expand to a greater extent. This paper discusses some of the issues related in introducing teleworking in a Malaysian Public University. Some of the relationship between preference to adopt teleworking among the University staff members and travel and job characteristics were highlighted. The implication of teleworking on parking demand is also discussed. Finally, conclusions were drawn.

2.0 INITIATIVE OF TELEWORKING IN MALAYSIA

The national priorities towards building Malaysia into a knowledge-based information technology society and economy were initially articulated in the Seventh Malaysia Plan, 1996-2000 and reinforced in the Eighth Malaysia Plan, 2001-2005. The strategic thrusts in the Eight Malaysia Plan include 2:

a)Positioning Malaysia as a major global ICT and multimedia hub

b)Upgrading and expanding the communication infrastructure to increase accessibility throughout the country as a means of bridging the digital divide

c)Enhancing human resource development in ICT to increase the supply of highly skilled and knowledge manpower

d)Promoting e-commerce and enhancing its use to enable Malaysia to compete more effectively in the global market

e)Fostering local capabilities in creative content development

f)Rolling out the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) flagship applications to further provide the momentum for the development of the MSC

g)Nurturing a critical mass of ICT-based small and medium enterprises (SMEs)

h)Promoting research and development (R&D) activities on soft factors of ICT and information age developments that affect individuals, organizations and societies.

The above thrusts are to be implemented in the context of the previously enunciated Vision 2020 and the concept of a Caring Society, that is, towards the attainment of a united and just society with strong social and spiritual values. Hence, Malaysia seeks to balance its aim to be internationally competitive in the global information economy with the demands of distributive justice. It is, thus, noteworthy that the Eighth Malaysia Plan has recognized teleworking as contributing towards closing the digital divide between urban and rural sectors through its Infodesa Programme as well as in providing Malaysians a more flexible mode of working by its intention to amend the Employment Act 1955. Women have also been encouraged to adopt teleworking 1.

According to a prevalence survey conducted to identify the extent and forms of teleworking in Malaysia, 98 out of 1254 establishments or 7.8% were found to be engaged in some form of teleworking. In terms of proportion of workforce, it constitutes only 0.345 percent or 895 persons of the total employed in the surveyed establishments. The findings from the survey also showed that the practice of teleworking was highest in the Finance, Insurance, Real Estate and other Business services sectors, at 14.2 percent. In terms of activities or functions, most teleworking was reported to be performed in sales and customer services. Other sectors which are engaged in teleworking such as telecommunications, software, printing and publishing, banking and finance and airlines, considerably higher percentage of teleworking incidence were reported in airlines industry (16.7 percent), telecommunications (21.9 percent), software industry (26.7 percent). However, only 5.6 percent and 7 percent was reported in the printing and publishing, banking and finance establishments respectively. The prevalence survey also identified the different types or forms of teleworking namely home-based, single/remote locations, mobile/multiple locations. The findings showed that out of the 98 establishments, which did telework, 58 percent have teleworkers working in multiple locations. Another 25 percent have teleworkers working from the home, and 21 percent have teleworkers working in a single location 1.

3.0RESEARCH APPROACH

A study was undertaken to bring out the perceptions of the employees of the International Islamic University Malaysia toward practicing teleworking as an alternate work arrangement. The main campus of International Islamic University is located at Gombak, a distance of 10 km northeast of Kuala Lumpur, the capital city of Malaysia. The campus is easily accessible by highways and expressways from Kuala Lumpur. Presently, the University has three campuses, one at Petaling Jaya, close to the Kuala Lumpur, the other at Kuantan, about 250 km east of Kuala Lumpur and the main campus at Gombak. The population of the main campus of the University is nearly 15,000, which includes academic & administrative staff and students. The main campus covers an area of 710 acres with an estimated build up area of 416,697 square metre. The practice of teleworking is made possible in a University setting at a wider scale especially among academic staff because they are mainly involved in teaching and research activities. A questionnaire was prepared and distributed to both academic and administrative staff of different faculties of the University by internal postal service system. The respondents were selected based on random sampling from the list of overall staff roll being issued by the Management Services Division of the University. The questionnaire consists of four sections namely job characteristics, travel characteristics, socio-economic characteristics and perceptions on teleworking. The section on job characteristics includes job position, number of years of experience with the University, mode of teaching, number of hours of teaching per week etc. Travel characteristics include mode of travel to work, commute distance, commute time, etc. Socio-economic characteristics include age, gender, marital status, income etc. Finally, perceptions on teleworking include willingness to telework, frequency of teleworking, reasons for teleworking, and reasons against teleworking.

The sample size was selected based on the total population size. The following expression was used in determining the total sample size for the study.

n = N/(1+Ne2)(1)

Where

n = sample size

N = total population size (=843)

e = precision level (assumed 10%)

Based on the expression (1), the sample size was calculated to be 90. A proportionate random sampling technique was employed for the distribution of questionnaire to each of the faculties based on the total number of academic and administrative staff in each faculty. A time period of 1 to 2 months was given to the respondents for the completion of questionnaire. The incompleted questionnaire was filled out by contacting the concerned respondents over telephone. To help ease statistical analyses, SPSS computer software tool was used.

4.0 RESEARCH ANALYSIS & FINDINGS

The collected data by using questionnaire were screened initially for accuracy. Descriptive statistical techniques were used to analyse the collected data. SPSS software tool was utilized to help run the statistical techniques adopted. The following subsections highlight some important findings of this study.

4.1. Work Characteristics

It includes job position, number of years of experience with the University, mode of teaching, number of hours of teaching per week etc. The academic staff of the University includes Professors, Associate Professors, Assistant Professors, Lecturers, Assistant Lecturers whereas administrative staff includes clerks. The sample constitute about 1% of Professors followed by 11% of Associate Professor, 23% of Assistant Professors, 13% of Lecturers, 21% of Assistant Lecturers and 28% clerks. Usage of personal computer for work-related activities was found to be high among the respondents. About 74.5% of the respondents were using personal computers frequently for their work-related activities. It clearly showed the importance of using personal computer for their work-related activities.

The interaction with work colleagues plays a very important role in determining the job independent. Interaction could be classified as social related and job-related in any workplace. The job-related interaction is very much crucial to ascertain whether that type of job is compatible to telework at least part of the days in a week. The lesser the interaction with either the co-workers or supervisors, the more suitable the job could be to telework. Nearly 92% of the administrative staff was subjected to frequent interaction with their colleagues. It showed the level of accountability in depending on others for their work-related activities.

4.2 Travel Characteristics

It includes mode of commute trip, commute distance etc. The car ownership level in Malaysia is relatively high because of factors such as living style, high income, loans provided by financial institutions. Nearly 78% of the respondents commute to the University from the place of residences by using private car. Only 18% of the respondents use public transport. Commute distance is another important parameter in determining the inclination toward practicing teleworking. The general phenomenon is longer the commute distance, greater the inclination would be toward practicing teleworking. The findings showed that 38% of the respondents were commuting more than 20 km followed by 21% less than 5 km, 20% between 5 and 10 km.

4.3 Socio-economic Characteristics

It includes age, gender, income, marital status, ethnic status etc. About 47% of the respondents were in the 31-40 years category, followed by 33% in the 20-30 years, and 10% in the 41-50 years. On gender, the proportion of male and female respondents was found to be almost equally distributed. About 52% of the respondents were male and 48% female. The sample showed that higher percentages of respondents were in the low to middle income category. About 29% of the respondents were receiving RM1000-RM2000 monthly followed by 20% RM 2001-3000 and 8% more than RM 5000. Most of the respondents were married which comprises nearly 77% and 23% were single. The penetration of personal computer at home was found to be higher among the respondents. Nearly 67% of the respondents were owned personal computer at home. Importance of using personal computer, declining cost was found to be the main factors toward this trend. The Malaysian society mainly comprises of Malays, Chinese and Indians. The ethnic status of the sample was found to be that 81% were Malay followed by 4% Indian. The higher percentage of Malay ethnic group in the sample is because of the religious affiliation of the University in which Islam is the religion of the Malay ethnic group. The summary of the characteristics is shown in table 1

Table 1 Characteristics of the respondents (n = 90)

Characteristics / Frequency / Percentage (%)
Job Position
Professor
Associate Professor
Assistant Professor
Lecturer
Assistant Lecturer
Administrative Clerk
Others / 1
10
21
12
19
25
2 / 1.1
11.1
23.3
13.3
21.1
27.8
2.2
Mode of Travel
Car
Motorcycle
Public Transport / 70
4
16 / 77.8
4.4
17.8
Commute Distance
>5km
5-10km
11-15km
16-20km
>20km / 19
18
9
10
34 / 21.1
20
10
11.1
37.8
Age
20-30 years
31-40 years
41-50 years
>50 years / 30
42
9
9 / 33.3
46.7
10
10
Gender
Male
Female / 47
43 / 52.2
47.8
Marital Status
Married
Single / 69
21 / 76.7
23.3
Ethnic Status
Malay
Indian
Others / 73
4
13 / 81.2
4.4
14.4
Computer Ownership
Yes
No / 60
30 / 66.7
33.3

Source: Primary Survey

4.4. Perceptions toward Teleworking

There exists a great potential to introduce teleworking as an alternate work arrangement in the University. This is mainly attributed to the nature and function of work being carried among the employees especially academic staff of the University. The primary function of an academic staff in the University is, obviously, observed to be teaching and conducting research. The use of information technology for teaching and research by the staff members would allow them to perform their work remotely. To exemplify, the lecturers could teach their students remotely by IT networking. The lecture notes, if there is any, could be received by the students through web page. Alternatively, the lecturer who prefer to teach students physically in the University could come to the campus on the day of lecture and handle their research activities on the other days preferably at home using information and communication technology (ICT). It is evident from the sample that there exists a high penetration level of personal computer at home.

The success of introducing teleworking in the University is very much related with the rate of acceptability of practicing teleworking among the staff members. Interestingly, the perceptions of the respondents toward accepting teleworking revealed an overwhelming positive inclination to adopt teleworking as an alternate work arrangement. The findings showed that 83% of the respondents were inclined to adopt teleworking if given an option by the University authorities. Nevertheless, the respondents were preferred to telework less frequently. Nearly 31% of the respondents who were willing to telework would prefer to do so 2 days per week and 23% 1 day per week.

4.4.1 Reasons for Selecting Teleworking

The practice of teleworking is attributed to associated advantages such as job flexibility, reduction in commute trip and time, increase in productivity and more time with family members. The elimination of fixed working time, 8.00 a.m.- 4.30 p.m., as a result of practicing teleworking is considered vital in attracting the concept of teleworking. Similarly, the reduction in commute trip as a result of practicing teleworking will directly relieve traffic congestion on the arteries between home and workplace. Caring for dependents at home is another important reason for practicing teleworking especially working mothers. It is evident that the female labor force participation in Malaysia is almost 50% of the female working population. As a result, foreign maids were hired for caring children at home. It also results adolescent to stay away from home late in the night, which eventually brings social malaise to the living community. The respondents not surprisingly, agreed that multiple reasons were attributed toward preference to telework. The findings showed that 75% of the respondents were stated at least one of the factor such as increased productivity, increased flexibility, increased time with family members, increased saving in travel time and job satisfaction for teleworking.

4.4.2 Reasons against Teleworking

The disinclination toward teleworking is due to few factors associated with it. Isolation, inducement to do more work, decreased chances of promotion, increased confrontation between family members are few among them. Isolation is one of the principal factors, which inhibit employees to telework because of less socialization with co-workers in the central office. Few studies had reported that many teleworkers were returned to their main offices after few months because of being isolated at home. Secondly, the elimination of fixed working time would allow teleworkers to work at their own pace because of flexibility resulting in doing more work at home as compared to the central office. The study showed that nearly 17% of the respondents were not preferred to telework for one or more reasons. It was found that 80% of these respondents reported more than one reasons for not adopting teleworking. It includes isolation, inducement to do more work, decreased chances of promotion, increased confrontation between work and family members, and high initial cost.