Telework as a Game-Changer for Sustainability? Transitions in Work, Workplace and Socio-Spatial Arrangements

Nadezda Krasilnikova and Meike Levin-Keitel
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Nadezda Krasilnikova: Spatial Transformation in the Digital Age, TU Dortmund University, August-Schmidt-Straße 10, 44227 Dortmund, Germany
Meike Levin-Keitel: Spatial Transformation in the Digital Age, TU Dortmund University, August-Schmidt-Straße 10, 44227 Dortmund, Germany

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 11, 1-13

Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic makes home-based telework commonplace and promotes a discussion about addressing mobility problems. Many studies focus on the relationship between the urban form at the place of residence and mode of transport or travel distance. Less attention has been paid to the spatial location of the workplace and its implications for mobility. In this article, we investigate these shifting patterns of work (places) from a socio-spatial mobility perspective. Companies in suburban areas are often characterised by limited access to public transport, cause accordingly high commuting volumes of car traffic and have a strong impact on mobility systems throughout whole regions. Anchored in a case study in Burgwedel, in the suburban area of Hannover, Germany, we analyse the impact and the potential of telework concerning workplaces and sustainable mobility. The data analysis is based on qualitative interviews with local employers ( n = 10) and a survey of employees in Burgwedel ( n = 367) during October–December 2021. We identify three groups of employees according to their abilities to implement telework defined by the nature of their job and their company’s culture. We show that teleworking can be a game-changer for sustainable mobility in cooperation with local companies.

Keywords: home-based telework; suburban area; sustainable mobility; companies (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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