Cultural factors influencing telework in Europe

Abstract

Technical development and the struggle against the Covid-19 epidemic have led us to a milestone in the use of telework. The main hypothesis of our research was that cultural factors made an impact on the rate of telework at home (home office) in Europe in 2019. The results of our research were in line with the findings of previous studies. We found that the rate of telework is at a higher rate in individualistic societies, and low power distances and low levels of uncertainty avoidance have a positive impact on the use of telework as well. A distinctive feature of our study was the inclusion of the indulgent/restrictive social characteristic factor, and both correlation analysis and regression analysis proved the determining role of this factor. In indulgent societies, people’s happiness, well-being, and leisure are important, as well as having control over their own lives. We should consider these factors in designing the future teleworking system in order to get the full benefits of teleworking.