Contributions of Can, May and Want to the Home Office Frequency Decision

Abstract

Camawa. Can, may and want. These are the constituents of the home office frequency decision. Not every job can be done from home nor is it a matter of all or nothing. Every job profile can be positioned on a continuum reflecting its home office feasibility. Further, those who can, might not may: Firms call back employees to the office or set constraints such as a home office budget. Last but not least cama does not mean anything without wa - the preference dimension. This work tries to account for all three dimensions simultaneously by means of a structural equation model (SEM). We find that the may dimension is of most substance and an employee’s perception of her employer’s point of view plays a crucial role in it. Meanwhile, preferences are governed by several suitability considerations. Personal suitability, residential suitability and the suitability of the home office workstation play into the decision, perceived personal suitability being the most important of the three.