Study of factors inhibiting establishment of teleworking system in Iranian Public Sector

In today's networked economy, the effectiveness of traditional methods of working is reduced day by day. The usual method of employment due to changes in technology is rapidly being merged. Besides, Internet and other information and communication technologies create the possibility so that the group work can be organized without geographical limitation. This method which is made possible by information and communication is known as telework.

Teleworking is a kind of arrangement which is flexible in terms of time (part time or full time), and the location (home, remote sites or mobile form) for an employee to do his tasks and pay his duties. Although, there are numerous benefits associated with teleworking, achieving these benefits mainly depends on successful deployment of this system. Organizations which have implemented this system show that significant preventing factors are involved in implementing this system. Therefore, the present study tries to investigate the “factors preventing the establishment of telework in public sector System of Iran”. The present research is applied and descriptive in nature, regarding the goals and methods. The participants in this study were managers and staff experts of public sectors of ministries in Iran (except the Ministry of Information, defense, justice, Interior, and foreign). To identify the barriers of telework systems and determine their importance, two types of tailor-made questionnaire were utilized; the main questionnaire involves the identification of factors, and the second one is the experts’ survey for ranking the factors. In this study first, the preventing factors of telework system were identified, using factor analysis techniques, and then the barriers were weighed and ranked through Multiple Criteria decision Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) techniques. Finally, data were analyzed and recommendations were proposed based on the result.

This model has six indicators of weakness; change management, lack of environmental contexts, mechanisms and operational inefficiencies, poor orientation and organization, lack of employees’ knowledge and expertise, and lack of motivation and desire among staff. This model has been developed for the first time in Iranian public sectors.

The results of this study can benefit managers of administrative units to better understand preventing factors. Moreover, it can help them to make decision for teleworking systems management, and increase the productivity of the organizations.