Telecommuting: alternative strategies for the Jamaican libraries
| Published date | 01 May 2006 |
| Pages | 380-388 |
| Date | 01 May 2006 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/02640470610671222 |
| Author | Mardene Rosalee Carr |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Library & information science |
Telecommuting: alternative
strategies for the Jamaican
libraries
Mardene Rosalee Carr
University College of the Cayman Islands, George Town, Grand Cayman,
Cayman Islands
Abstract
Purpose – The paper seeks to show how telecommuting can be employed to advantage in the
Jamaican library system.
Design/methodology/approach – A questionnaire and a literature review were utilized in this
research paper. The primary research tool was a 12-question questionnaire that was administered to
all levels of library staff across the island. Articles covered in the literature review ranged from 1988 to
2004. This range was used to give a general idea of telecommuting from early on to present day.
Findings – The paper finds that library staff all over Jamaica were interested in the concept of
telecommuting.
Originality/value – The paper provides information as to the benefits of incorporating
telecommuting into the Jamaican library system.
Keywords Teleworking,Remote workers, Libraries, Jamaica
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
According to the results from the Dieringer Research Group presented by the
International Telework Association and Council (ITAC), the number of American
teleworkers who did any form of work from home grew from 41.3 million in 2003 to
44.4 million in 2004 (Smith, 2004). They further stated that those workers who worked
from home at least one day per month during regular business hours increased from
23.5 million to 24.1 million. AT&T’s annual employees’ telework research (2002/2003)
concluded that 17 per cent of AT&T managers are now involved in full-time
telecommuting. This is almost a 50 per cent increase from the last survey, undertaken
in 2001/2002. The survey suggests that telecommuting is being used more and more as
a mechanism to increase business efficiency and continuity. In Canada telecommuting
is a rapidly growing phenomenon after making a slow start in the 1980s (Canadian
Telework Association, n.d.). The 2001 count by the Canadian Telework Association
estimated the overall numbers of telecommuters to be 1.5 million.
The UK has also jumped onto the bandwagon when it comes to telecommuting. The
Employment Relations Directorate of the Department of Trade and Industry observed
that the total numbers of teleworkers in the UK in 2001 was 2.2 million (Hotopp, 2002).
This figure was about 7.4 per cent of total employment.
The International Labor Organization (ILO) defines telework as:
A form of work in which (a) work is performed in a location remote from central office or
production facilities, thus separating the worker from the personal contact with co-workers
there; and (b) new technology enables this separation by facilitating communication (Martino,
2001).
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/0264-0473.htm
EL
24,3
380
The Electronic Library
Vol. 24 No. 3, 2006
pp. 380-388
qEmerald Group Publishing Limited
0264-0473
DOI 10.1108/02640470610671222
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