Telework for a Sustainable Future: Systematic Review of Its Contribution to Global Corporate Sustainability (2020–2024)

Mauro Adriel Ríos Villacorta, Emma Verónica Ramos Farroñán (), Roger Ernesto Alarcón García, Gabriela Lizeth Castro Ijiri, Jessie Leila Bravo-Jaico, Angélica María Minchola Vásquez, Lucila María Ganoza-Ubillús, José Fernando Escobedo Gálvez, Verónica Raquel Ríos Yovera and Esteban Joaquín Durand Gonzales
Additional contact information
Mauro Adriel Ríos Villacorta: Facultad de Ciencia Económica, Administrativas y Contables, Universidad Nacional Pedro Ruíz Gallo, Lambayeque 14013, Peru
Emma Verónica Ramos Farroñán: Instituto de Investigación en Ciencias y Tecnología, Universidad César Vallejo, Campus Chepén-Chiclayo-Piura-Los Olivos, Trujillo 13001, Peru
Roger Ernesto Alarcón García: Digital Transformation Research Group, Pedro Ruiz Gallo National University, Lambayeque 14013, Peru
Gabriela Lizeth Castro Ijiri: Instituto de Investigación en Ciencias y Tecnología, Universidad César Vallejo, Campus Chepén-Chiclayo-Piura-Los Olivos, Trujillo 13001, Peru
Jessie Leila Bravo-Jaico: Digital Transformation Research Group, Pedro Ruiz Gallo National University, Lambayeque 14013, Peru
Angélica María Minchola Vásquez: Instituto de Investigación en Ciencias y Tecnología, Universidad César Vallejo, Campus Chepén-Chiclayo-Piura-Los Olivos, Trujillo 13001, Peru
Lucila María Ganoza-Ubillús: Instituto de Investigación en Ciencias y Tecnología, Universidad César Vallejo, Campus Chepén-Chiclayo-Piura-Los Olivos, Trujillo 13001, Peru
José Fernando Escobedo Gálvez: Facultad de Ciencias Económicas, Universidad Nacional de Tumbes, Tumbes 24001, Peru
Verónica Raquel Ríos Yovera: Instituto de Investigación en Ciencias y Tecnología, Universidad César Vallejo, Campus Chepén-Chiclayo-Piura-Los Olivos, Trujillo 13001, Peru
Esteban Joaquín Durand Gonzales: Instituto de Investigación en Ciencias y Tecnología, Universidad César Vallejo, Campus Chepén-Chiclayo-Piura-Los Olivos, Trujillo 13001, Peru

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 13, 1-32

Abstract: The COVID-19 crisis has turned teleworking from a minority option into an imposed and generalized way of life and has called into question its contribution to corporate sustainability. The present review is the first systematic review of the effects of telework on the environmental, social, and economic pillars of corporate sustainability in the scholarly literature published from 2020 to 2024. A total of 50 studies from three databases (Scopus, Science Direct, and Taylor and Francis) were reviewed according to PRISMA guidelines by both a data bibliometric analysis and narrative synthesis. The findings show that telework has the potential to improve environmental sustainability by decreasing commuting emissions (29–54% depending on its deployment intensity), but rebound effects such as increased residential energy use work against this (in part) positive regard. From a social point of view, telework is double-edged between helping balance personal and work life and possessing the potential to lead to greater isolation and aggravate existing inequalities, particularly in developing countries. Economically, it drives operational costs down and expands the talent pool, with micro-, meso-, and macroeconomic impacts. The possibility of telework as a tool of sustainable development is substantially moderated by organizational culture, digital infrastructure, sociodemographic reality, and even the physical environment. We argue that telework is a potentially transformative driver of corporate sustainability if deployed strategically within a given context; however, disciplinary fragmentation and methodological lacunae in common metrics remain, especially with regard to long-term effects and implementation in developing economies.

Keywords: telework; remote work; corporate sustainability; systematic review; environmental impact; social equity; organizational transformation; COVID-19; work–life balance; digital transition (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/13/5737/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/13/5737/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:13:p:5737-:d:1684694

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().