The Intensity of Telework in 2002 in the EU, Switzerland andthe USA

Measuring the spread of telework has been an objective of telework research since it has been appropriated by EU andnation state policy during the 1980s. While a great deal of statistics on the subject have become available from varioussources, a number of questions have not been sufficiently explored yet, mostly due to the comparatively small share ofteleworkers among the total labour force which has made representative data hard to obtain. The ongoing spread ofteleworking in all EU countries makes this task increasingly easier. In the meantime, however, there is a trend towards"anywhere-anytime, natural interactions with a universe of IST applications and services" in working life which meansthat working from just anywhere becomes a reality for more and more people. With a view on statistical measurement,this gives rise to a number of challenges. Existing indicators, and related methodologies for data collection, must be putto the test as to whether they are still appropriate in the light of developments towards “ubiquitous computing” and“footloose working”. This paper presents first results of a survey undertaken as part of SIBIS (Statistical IndicatorsBenchmarking the Information Society), an IST programme research project that develops new indicators for themeasurement of Information Society phenomena. The pilot survey was conducted in all EU Member States plusSwitzerland and the USA, thereby giving a comprehensive view of the status quo of telework diffusion in 2002. Itrepresents the first attempt to develop a statistical measure for the intensity of telework.