WORK AND FAMILY IN THE VIRTUAL OFFICE - PERCEIVED INFLUENCES OF MOBILE TELEWORK

Telework is a rapidly emerging reality in the workplace. This study ex plores the influence of mobile telework on family life as reported by teleworkers in a large national corporation (n = 157). In addition, th is group is compared to an equivalent group of office workers (n = 89) from the same corporation. Mobile teleworkers reported much greater w ork flexibility. Some reported that their families thrived because of this flexibility. Others reported that their families struggled becaus e workplace and schedule flexibility blurred the boundaries between wo rk and family life. Suggestions are given for how family life educator s might help mobile teleworkers ease the transition from traditional w ork to the virtual office.