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Chapter One Introduction to the Field of Organizational Behavior

23

personal activities. When a major blizzard shut federal government offices in Washington, DC, 30 percent of employees teleworked, saving the government $30 million per day. 90 Against these potential benefits, work-at-home employees face a number of real or potential challenges. Family relations may suffer rather than improve if employees lack sufficient space and resources for a home office. Some employees complain of social isolation and reduced promotion opportunities when they work away from the office most of the time. Telework is clearly better suited to people who are self-motivated and organized, can work effectively with broadband and other technology, and have sufficient fulfillment of social needs elsewhere in their life. "They tend to be the kind of people who would stay late and do the job at the office, people who know what they're responsible for and want to get it done," says Michelle van Schouwen, president of van Schouwen Associates, an advertising and marketing firm in Longmeadow, Mass. 9 1 Virtual work arrangements are also more successful in organizations that evaluate employees by their performance outcomes rather than face time. 92

Anchors of Organizational Behavior Knowledge

Globalization, increasing workforce diversity, and emerging employment relationships are just a few of the trends that challenge organizations and make the field of organizational behavior more relevant than ever before. To understand these and other topics, the field of organizational behavior relies on a set of basic beliefs or knowledge structures (see Exhibit 1.5). These conceptual...