Deployment of Telework in European Public Administrations

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Deployment of Telework in European Public Administrations: An Overview

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1.1. Bureaucratic Telework, Tele-cooperation and Tele-control
Definitions for telework differ with the changing backgrounds of regional economic cultures.
They relate to the technology in use, the time spent away from the traditional workplace, the place
where work is actually conducted, the transfer and the addressee of information, and employment
configurations. Further, definitions and classifications are highly dependent on the institutional
framework where they are produced.
The current uncertainty about telework definitions
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is reflected by a weak statistical basis. Still,
the most reliable source regarding pan-European telework penetration is the TELDET-survey of
1994 which has provided the basis for many subsequent and less serious speculations and whose
authors themselves reveal the critical aspects of the data obtained.
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On the one hand, the
extrapolation of reliable data from five core countries to the other seven remaining EC-countries
in 1994 on the basis of geographical proximity regardless of differences of their 'economic
development, the existence of government policies in the area and the IT&T infrastructure’
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, as
well as a fairly wide definition of telework have been likely to result in a high number of
teleworkers.