CONCLUSION

While technology is generally acknowledged as an enabler of telecommuting, it has also recently been blamed for the slow growth of home-based telecommuting (Brown & Duguid, 2000.) In this chapter, we examined the role that technology currently plays when employees work from home on a regular basis. We reported on a study that compared the impact of employer support variables, which differed in how closely they related to technology use, on employees' reactions to HBT. Two technology-related support variables (IT support and appropriate technology) and being trusted by the manager were significantly related to both satisfaction and number of days/week spent telecommuting. Thus, even for experienced HBT employees, technology-related support has a broad effect on their reactions to HBT. This indicates that technology does still play a crucial role in home-based telecommuting, which is consistent with the argument of Brown and Duguid (2000.) However, in contrast to their single-factor approach, the overall pattern of results indicates that HBT is better understood within a multifactor framework that acknowledges that HBT takes place within a complex social and organizational context. We suggested adopting a more encompassing view, namely that technology both facilitates and hinders the development of HBT. This approach encourages studies that help us to better understand the contradictory role of technology, and may thus lead to improved employer support for HBT employees.