Teleworking in Silicon Valley: Implications for social capital

Utilizing indicators of social capital, this study investigates a potential relationship between work status (teleworking or non-teleworking) and levels of social capital among employees. The study also investigates a potential relationship between social capital indicators, working in Silicon Valley and using telecommunication technology tools at work. The data are from an online survey. The findings do not support the hypothesis that Silicon Valley employees have higher levels of social capital on multiple indicators, compared with employees working elsewhere. The findings also do not support the hypothesis that teleworkers have lower levels of social capital, compared with office-based workers. It cannot be determined that working in Silicon Valley or that teleworking have any direct effect on social capital. The findings do, however, provide some support for the third hypothesis. The amount of time spent using telecommunication technology tools at work negatively affects social trust, one social capital indicator.