| In response to economic and global pressures, federal agencies have increased the number of teleworkers among their employees. The aim of this generic qualitative study was to supplement existing knowledge of teleworking with an in-depth description of the perceptions of federal employees regarding their home and work-life experiences as teleworkers. Participants offered an impression of employee engagement and social interaction among coworkers and federal teleworkers' perceptions of work-life balance versus work-life integration. Three male and five female federal teleworkers who had worked one or more years in the federal government answered 13 questions in semistructured interviews. Eight themes emerged from the data analysis: attraction to teleworking, work-family, team, interaction, technology, managing interruptions, and work performance. The findings indicated federal employees exercise flexibility to manage home and work life, and flexibility significantly influenced their behavior, emotions, attitudes, work performance, productivity, quality of life, and work expectations, which is a great force in motivating an employee. A lack of interaction caused a breakdown in the way teams communicated and shared knowledge with their supervisors and other coworkers and led to challenging working conditions. Further examination of federal teleworking could bolster the momentum for social change inside the federal government. Changing elected administrative organizational culture is another region for thought in future research. |
