Creating an effective training environment for enhancing telework

There is a growing need for research examining the effective implementation and management of teleworking as it is increasingly being used as an organ izational work structure. The enhanced functionality of many information te chnologies facilitates the completion of work across geographically dispers ed teleworkers while simultaneously providing a vehicle to overcome social isolation that has been viewed as an inhibitor of teleworker effectiveness. This research assesses two training methods that can be used to help telew orkers develop skill sets for using these technologies. The results suggest that using a game-based training method facilitates the training process b y increasing users' intrinsic motivation resulting in increased intention t o use the technology. This can be particularly important in enhancing the e ffective completion of team and individual telework while at the same time providing a mechanism to minimize teleworkers social isolation. (C) 2000 Ac ademic Press.