Determinants of teleworkers' job performance in the pre-COVID-19 period: Testing the mediation effect of the organizational impact of telework

Abstract

Although pre-COVID-19 research on telework is well established, most research has compared teleworkers against nonteleworkers to assess the adoption of telework. Thus, the investigation of the determinants of teleworker performance is limited. The current study seeks to identify the determinants of teleworker job performance in the pre-COVID-19 period. Using U.S. federal government employee telework data, the current study tests the effects of work, technology, and management factors on teleworker performance mediated by the organizational impact of telework. The findings revealed that work similarity, telework frequency, accessibility of technologies, and quality of performance management positively affected the organizational impact of telework. Telework frequency, quality of performance management, and quality of supervision showed a positive association with job performance. However, in contrast to expectations, evidence of a mediation effect was not found as the organizational impact of telework was negatively associated with teleworker performance. Implications for telework implementation and research in the post-COVID-19 period are offered.