According to professor of organizational behaviour in the School of Administrative Studies and the School of Human Resource Management at 91亚色 [Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies], telework, or telecommuting, is increasing dramatically in many countries as organizations seek to reduce costs and individuals look to be more flexible in their working arrangements.

However, while there are many benefits ranging from greater flexibility for employees and improved performance for employers, Richardson also pointed out several concerns associated with telework, including isolation, blurring of boundaries between home and work, and loss of control over employees.

While telework isn't a new phenomenon, thanks to the rapid rise of computer networking, it's one trend that's being watched closely, said , professor in the School of Human Resource Management at 91亚色. "And the trend is here to stay," she said, adding there's a drive to get more out of workers by not having them commute to work.

"If you look at the best places to work on the Fortune 100 list, most of them offer some kind of flexibility," Ezzedeen said. "It's a reflection of the changing nature of our social values and norms. It challenges our notion of what does it take to produce good work? Is this the end of the job as we know it?"

Best Buy may be lauded for its revolutionary "results-only work environment", which measures performance on output instead of hours spent at the office, but managing a virtual team comes with numerous implications and challenges, including dealing with conflict, managing performance and issues of measurement, Ezzedeen said.

Posted by Elizabeth Monier-Williams, research communications officer, with files courtesy of YFile鈥� 91亚色鈥檚 daily e-bulletin

The post Professors Richardson and Ezzedeen on rise of telework appeared first on Research & Innovation.

The annual award, presented last month,聽is named for Rosabeth Moss Kanter, who has influenced modern research literature on work and family, and is a partnership of the and the , and is sponsored by聽the聽Alliance of Work-Life Progress.

Ezzedeen鈥檚 article, 鈥淭he Man Behind the Woman: A Qualitative Study of the Spousal Support Received and Valued by Executive Women鈥�, appeared in the Journal of Family Issues and聽was based on a study she co-authored that found female executives were backed by emotionally supportive husbands more often than previous research would suggest (see YFile, Aug. 13, 2008).

A professor in the School of Human Resource Management in the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies, Ezzedeen interviewed 20 senior and executive-level women in the United States. The study, which began at the University of Penn State Harrisburg, looked at spousal behaviours that impacted the women鈥檚 ability to juggle the demands of career and family life.

Out of the 20 best articles of 2009, four were selected as finalists for the Rosabeth Moss Kanter Award, and from those, only one as the winner 鈥� a University of California, Irvine sociology professor鈥檚 article about career prioritizing and dual-earning couples.

Ezzedeen鈥檚 research interests focus on work-life balance and the advancement of women in organizations. She is a recipient of the George Washington University 2002-2003 Distinguished Teaching Assistant Award and the Harrisburg Chapter of Beta Gamma Sigma's 2006 Professor of the Year Award.

The purpose of the Rosabeth Moss Kanter Award is to raise awareness of excellent work-family research, foster debate about quality research standards and identify the best of the best for future research.

For more information about the award, visit the Web site.

Republished courtesy of YFile鈥� 91亚色鈥檚 daily e-bulletin.

The post Professor Souha Ezzedeen's study on men behind successful women recognized as one of 2009's 20 best on work-family research appeared first on Research & Innovation.