Deployment of Telework in European Public Administrations

Deployment of Telework in European Public Administrations: An Overview
1960
1974
1985
1990
1995
EU 15
11.2
15.2
18.9
18.4
17.8
Austria
10.6
15.0
19.6
20.7
22.5
Belgium
12.8
15.5
20.4
19.8
19.2**
Denmark
15.2*
22.2
29.7
30.4
30.7
Finland
7.7
13.8
20.1
21.9
25.2
France
-
17.4
22.9
22.8
24.8
Germany
8.1
13.0
15.5
15.1
15.6
Greece
-
-
-
-
-
Ireland
-
12.9
15.9
14.1
13.4**
Italy
-
13.4
15.2
15.6
16.1
Luxembourg
-
9.7
11.7
11.0
11.4
Netherlands
10.9
12.4
14.9
13.5
12.1
Portugal
4.2
8.7
13.2
15.3
-
Spain
6.5*
9.3
14.3
14.1
15.2
Sweden
12.8
24.8
32.7
31.6
31.3
U.K.
16.4
19.6
21.5
19.4
14.4
Source: OECD, Historical Statistics (1997), *figures for 1968, **figures for 1994.
This is also supported by technologies that provide the potential for dealing rapidly with large
quantities of complex information and for reducing the constraints of location and social status
which hinder access to information. Criticism of the inefficiency of bureaucracies, formerly a
standard of conservative parties, became a general item on the political agenda and appears
nowadays with slogans like ‘new public management’ and ‘lean administrations’.
21
21
see Mitterlehner/Kyrer ed. (1997).

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Data as shown in Table 4 must be interpreted cautiously. Already a decrease in growth in
government employment might indicate structural changes, but the figures must be seen as results
of various factors. Changes in the percentage of employment can be due to shifts in other
economic sectors. Available macro-statistics do not differ between core administration and the
entire public sector. A decrease of employment might either indicate reduced recruitment or job
losses without a change of the institutional framework, or might be the result of outsourcing and
privatisation.
1.3. Research: State of the Art
Exceptional cases featuring public administrations as telework practitioners have been presented
on European Telework conferences, supported by national actors and DG XIII
(Telecommunications, Information Market and Exploitation of Research) of the European
Commission.
22
These presentations have partly described actual experiences, and partly
introduced future plans for telework pilots. A systematic investigation on national level was
mainly done in single cases for exceptional models of telework schemes when evaluated by
external researchers and consultants. The majority of these findings are unpublished. For our
study we considered all the findings available.
Transnational statistics on advanced computer technologies used by public administrations are not
available. In a few countries ministries have carried out such surveys (see Part Two). Apart from
a few indicators in the TELDET-survey, we could identify only two national surveys dealing with
quantitative aspects of telework in public administrations: the Catral survey on telework in French
bureaucracies and an unpublished study of the Swedish Association of Municipalities.
23
Existing literature focuses little on the reasons why public administrations are teleworking, it
mainly focuses on why they 
should
telework.
In the context of the strong tendency for individualisation in recent times, one of the most
attractive promises of telework is the enhancement of staff satisfaction, empowerment and
increased autonomy regarding the management of individual time. This is suggested to public
administrations as well as to any other organisation. Furthermore, it has been suggested that, by
changing their own work organisation, public authorities ‘can promote teleworking in order to
achieve certain policy objectives’
24
, e.g.:
l
as part of their commitment to equal opportunities an increase of the proportion of disabled
people in the work force;
l
environmental strategies such as the reduction of traffic volume and pollution;
11