Telecommuting and work-life balance among oil and gas employees in Nigeria
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Date
2019
Authors
Gbajumo-Sheriff, M
Udobi-Owoloja, P
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Abstract
Telecommuting is a concept that describes a situation whereby employees work from home or other remote locations with the help of technology: internet, emails, phones, etc. Researches conducted in western economies have provided evidence that suggests that telecommuting gives employees the opportunity to work flexibly thereby improving their work commitment, satisfaction and work-life balance. Work-life balance studies are being conducted in Nigeria by various researchers. However literature on telecommuting in Nigeria as a work-life balance strategy is still insufficient. This study, therefore, uses qualitative analysis (using semi-structured interviews) to investigate and analyse responses from human resource (HR) managers, supervisors and working mothers in different departments in some of the oil and gas companies in Nigeria on the appropriateness or otherwise of the introduction of telecommuting in their organisations. Despite the traffic and infrastructural challenges in Nigeria, telecommuting is still at the developmental stage. Preliminary findings show that many HR managers believe it might be challenging to introduce this work-life balance initiative on a full scale because of the possibility of abuse and indiscipline on the part of employees. Some of the interviewees also still see telecommuting as a foreign initiative/concept that might not be easy to adapt in the Nigerian context. Research evidence suggests that telecommuting might not be effective in Nigeria because of its associated costs and absence
of a mechanism to monitor employees’ performance. It is recommended that employers should work towards a gradual introduction of telecommuting in their workplaces.
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Scholarly articles
Keywords
Telecommuting , Technology , Work-life balance , Oil and gas , Research Subject Categories::SOCIAL SCIENCES::Social sciences
Citation
Gbajumo-Sheriff, M. & Udobi-Owoloja, P. (2019). Telecommuting and Work-Life Balance among oil and gas employees in Nigeria, Ilorin. Journal of Human Resource Management (IJHRM), 3(1), 75-83