How has the adoption of telework affected organizational commitment?
According to data from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications as of August 2023, the telework adoption rate in Japan is 49.9% among companies with 100 or more employees, excluding the public sector. Although the rate has slightly decreased from 51.9% in 2021 and 51.7% in 2022, it was only 20.2% in 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic, indicating that telework has become significantly more widespread in Japanese organizations. However, there is also a significant gap based on company size. According to 2022 data from Tokyo Shoko Research, the ratio was approximately 57% for large enterprises with capital of 100 million yen or more, compared to about 24% for small and medium-sized enterprises with capital of less than 100 million yen.
Triggered by the state of emergency declared during the COVID-19 outbreak in the spring of 2020, many employees were suddenly forced to work from home. Telework was, in a sense, imposed on them, making it a highly shocking event and a rapid change in working styles. Communication using ICT is significantly different from the face-to-face communication we have been accustomed to. With the adoption of telework, it is a matter of concern whether working outside the organization while still belonging to it might lead to a decline in psychological bonds, such as attachment and loyalty to the organization (organizational commitment).
How has working without meeting people in person, relying instead on ICT-based communication, and experiencing limited or no face-to-face interaction affected employees’ psychological bonds with their organizations? In December 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic, I conducted an online questionnaire survey aimed at clarifying the relationships among the effective use of ICT in organizations, organizational communication, and organizational commitment.
The respondents consisted of 500 Japanese white-collar workers, including 250 men and 250 women. There were 100 respondents in each age group: 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, and 60s. Regarding the effective use of ICT, I asked respondents to rate how effectively web conferencing systems (e.g., ZOOM), internal groupware, and email were being used in their work, using a five-point scale ranging from 1 (hardly used effectively) to 5 (very effectively used). It should be noted that social networking services (SNS) were excluded from the analysis because a very large number of respondents reported not using them for work in this survey.
This study employed the covariance structure analysis method (CSA-SEM), a statistical technique used to estimate relationships among multiple variables. I analyzed a model that incorporates the effective use of ICT as an exogenous variable; an open communication climate and satisfaction with the amount of information received from direct supervisors, leaders, and the organization (top management) as mediating variables; and organizational commitment as an endogenous variable. Organizational commitment consists of three types: affective commitment, which is a connection based on attachment to the organization; normative commitment, which is a connection based on a sense of obligation or loyalty to the organization; and continuance commitment, which is a connection based on passive or self-interest reasons, such as the lack of alternative options (as classified by Allen & Meyer (1990)).
Effective use of ICT will improve organizational communication and enhance organizational commitment even under telework conditions
The analysis revealed that the amount of work (hours) under telework conditions had no significant relationship with any type of organizational commitment. This suggests that the adoption of telework itself neither increases nor decreases employees’ organizational commitment. It was suggested that the use of ICT was effective for downward communication from supervisors, leaders, and top management, and also contributed to fostering an open communication climate within departments and teams. It was also found that when ICT is effectively utilized to facilitate sufficient information transmission from the organization (top management), supervisors, and leaders, or to foster an open communication climate within organizations and departments, employees’ organizational commitment increases. Moreover, since the effective use of ICT had little direct impact on organizational commitment (or only a minimal impact), it appears that the effective use of ICT contributes indirectly to an increase in organizational commitment through the improvements in organizational communication.
Organizational communication had a somewhat strong positive effect on both affective commitment and normative commitment, to a nearly equal degree. An open communication climate and a proactive approach to sharing information from top to bottom within the organization are considered to help employees develop a sense that they are accepted by their organization, department, or team. This may strengthen their sense of connection to the organization, based on their attachment, obligation, and loyalty to it. On the other hand, these forms of communication did not have as a strong effect on continuance commitment as on affective and normative commitment. Nevertheless, it had some positive effects because, when organizational communication was favorable and employees felt that they could comfortably express their opinions and that their presence was acknowledged, they tended to view their current organization more favorably compared to others, which, albeit passively, contributed to maintaining their relationship with the organization.
Concerns that the adoption of telework might have decreased Japanese employees’ organizational commitment have proven to be unfounded, and it has become clear that telework itself neither improves nor decreases organizational commitment. On the other hand, if effective use of ICT leads to more active organizational communication, commitment to the organization seems to improve even when teleworking. If telework improves work efficiency and helps maintain work-life balance, then having both telework days and office attendance days may be beneficial for the organization.
That said, it should be noted that in this survey, the respondents’ average weekly telework time was 9.84 hours, which is not particularly long, and that the analysis did not distinguish between employees who work in a hybrid format combining in-person work and telework, those who teleworked exclusively, and those who did not telework at all. In this study, I included the average telework hours as a variable in the analytical model. However, it would be interesting to see what results might emerge if I was able to compare employees who telework exclusively, those who work in a hybrid format, and those who work only in the office.
To improve organizational commitment, it is important to hone employees’ communication skills in using ICT
There is another interesting point that emerged from this survey. In this study, I investigated three ICT tools and found that the strength of their impact on organizational communication (open communication climate and downward communication from supervisors, leaders, and top management) differed depending on the tool. The internal groupware had the strongest impact on enhancing organizational communication, followed by the email, while the Web conferencing system had the weakest impact. (Although the statistical significance of this difference has not been analyzed, the ranking is based on the order of magnitude of the observed associations.) I had assumed that the Web conferencing system, as the communication tool most similar to face-to-face interaction, would have the strongest impact, but this was not the case.
One possible reason why text-based communication tools, such as internal groupware and email, were more effective in improving organizational communication may be that, for information sharing, including appropriate downward communication, it is crucial and necessary that the information be accurate and available for repeated reference to improve job performance. It may also be because free remarks and diverse opinions related to work are recorded, and remain accessible for reference even after some time has passed, making it easier for those opinions to be utilized. Internal groupware is text-based, making it easy to share information among many employees and to retain records. These characteristics are thought to contribute effectively to the enhancement and improvement of organizational communication.
According to data from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, the percentage of companies that cited “disruption of internal communication” as a reason for not adopting telework rose from 8.1% in fiscal 2022 to 15.3% in fiscal 2023. This also suggests that Japanese organizations place a high value on face-to-face communication. However, assuming that telework is feasible depending on the type of job, considering that telework can lead to a reduction in commuting time and time spent in the office, as well as an increase in time spent with family and for oneself, thereby improving work-life balance, which is often difficult to maintain, it may be that a hybrid approach combining telework and office attendance is ultimately the better option.
Given the importance of effectively utilizing ICT, improving ICT literacy and providing training for effective use are likely to become essential challenges for companies. Management (executives and leadership teams) may need to consider creating an environment for ICT utilization and implementing initiatives to foster an open communication climate and ensure appropriate downward information provision.
*This article is based on my paper (Ikushi Yamaguchi, 2024) “Mediating effects of organizational communication on the relationship between effective use of ICT and organizational commitment in telework.” Memoirs of the Institute of Social Sciences, Meiji University, 63 (1), pp. 50-83
* The information contained herein is current as of December 2024.
* The contents of articles on Meiji.net are based on the personal ideas and opinions of the author and do not indicate the official opinion of Meiji University.
* I work to achieve SDGs related to the educational and research themes that I am currently engaged in.
Information noted in the articles and videos, such as positions and affiliations, are current at the time of production.