Telework as a Game-Changer for Sustainability? Transitions in Work, Workplace and Socio-Spatial Arrangements

Autor(en)
Nadezda Krasilnikova, Meike Levin-Keitel
Abstrakt

The COVID-19 pandemic makes home-based telework commonplace and promotes a discussion about addressing mobility problems. Many studies focus on the relationship between the urban form at the place of residence and mode of transport or travel distance. Less attention has been paid to the spatial location of the workplace and its implications for mobility. In this article, we investigate these shifting patterns of work (places) from a socio-spatial mobility perspective. Companies in suburban areas are often characterised by limited access to public transport, cause accordingly high commuting volumes of car traffic and have a strong impact on mobility systems throughout whole regions. Anchored in a case study in Burgwedel, in the suburban area of Hannover, Germany, we analyse the impact and the potential of telework concerning workplaces and sustainable mobility. The data analysis is based on qualitative interviews with local employers (n = 10) and a survey of employees in Burgwedel (n = 367) during October–December 2021. We identify three groups of employees according to their abilities to implement telework defined by the nature of their job and their company’s culture. We show that teleworking can be a game-changer for sustainable mobility in cooperation with local companies.

Organisation(en)
Institut für Geographie und Regionalforschung
Externe Organisation(en)
Technische Universität Dortmund
Journal
Sustainability (Switzerland)
Band
14
DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/su14116765
Publikationsdatum
06-2022
Peer-reviewed
Ja
ÖFOS 2012
507012 Raumordnung
Schlagwörter
ASJC Scopus Sachgebiete
Geography, Planning and Development, Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment, Environmental Science (miscellaneous), Energy Engineering and Power Technology, Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law
Sustainable Development Goals
SDG 7 – Bezahlbare und saubere Energie, SDG 11 – Nachhaltige Städte und Gemeinden
Link zum Portal
https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/de/publications/957d0884-a97e-47ba-80f9-3f39741fa761