Multi-locational work, supported by information and communication technologies (ICTs), represents one key element of the current shift in the organisation of the labour process. Work which takes place at non-traditional work settings, and being enabled by increasingly mobile ICTs, is becoming more and more commonplace across Europe, according to results of representative surveys (e.g. SIBIS 2002/03). Does this mean that the spatial distribution of work is developing towards more decentralised patterns, as the logic behind concentrating labour in agglomerations becomes obsolete?In order to shed some light on this question, the paper mainly builds on findings from three research projects supported by the European Commission’s IST Programme, namely FLEXWORK, SIBIS and BISER. The authors use regional break-downs of representative population surveys to explore how telework is distributed across EU, and how these patterns can be explained. Conclusions about effects of telework on settlement patterns can also be drawn from an assessment of key characteristics of multi-locational work as it is being practised in the EU today.The evidence from this analysis suggests that the spread of multi-locational work (which includes “telework” as it is understood most widely) is not leading to the spatial distribution of work becoming more decentralised, apart from suburbanisation which continues inside of agglomerations. However, there are some interesting exceptions to this general rule which merit further investigation.
Theory of organisation ; Corporate communication and information exchange (see Data processing systems) ; Individual Working Papers, Preprints ; No country specification
