4.4.4.3 Digital technologies and avoid options: Teleworking

Recent analysis, spurred by the forced use of telework during the COVID-19 pandemic, explores the potential emission reductions linked with remote working thanks to the availability of ICT and digital technologies such as computers, cloud services, and remote access to networks. Teleworking not only changes how people commute to work but also how and where they travel for their other everyday business (Bohman et al., 2021; Elldér, 2020). For workers, teleworking represents a chance for higher flexibility and autonomy and improved work/life balance; for employers, it often leads to reduced costs and increased employee productivity (European Parliament, 2021). At societal level, it is worth exploring how telework can be designed as an intervention within a policy package to successfully transform currently unsustainable transportation systems into sustainable ones that avoid GHG emissions and other impacts. 

There is increasing evidence that teleworking affects both carbon emissions and spatial development (European Parliament, 2021). For the specific case of Austria, Heinfellner et al., (2020) argue that about 40 per cent of the workforce could potentially resort to telework, leading to about 1.4 per cent reduction in Austria’s GHG emissions from passenger transport, net of rebound effects. Analysing data on the desirability of telework from a survey and through a focus group in a case study for Austria, Maier et al., (2022) conclude that telework might function as a potential positive tipping intervention to move passenger transport on to a low-carbon trajectory. The surveyed respondents showed high willingness to engage in telework and accept various incentives that support low-carbon mobility (personal agency). 

However, only with attractive framework conditions (societal agency) will this personal willingness lead to tangible emission reductions. Key reinforcing feedbacks of teleworking as part of a broader tipping point to a lower-mobility paradigm go beyond the direct positive environmental impacts due to a decrease in traffic congestion and carbon emissions, and include (1) improving the mental wellbeing of workers by sparing them the stress of long journeys to and from work, (2) commuting time and travel costs savings and (3) long-lasting impact on the spatial distribution of work and economic activities away from city centres, to the benefit of peripheral geographical locations (e.g. suburbs) (European Parliament, 2021). This, in turn, would make working and living in peripheral areas more attractive and reduce pressure and environmental impacts associated with commuting and life in cities.

Yet, realising the full transformative potential of teleworking is conditional on the availability of digital work equipment (e.g. laptop, monitor, printer) and appropriate home office space, as well as access to a fast and stable internet connection and the ability to securely access documentation through either intranet or cloud services. For people to not only switch to teleworking but also transition to sustainable transportation modes, there is a need to establish supportive systemic structures. Telework should not be viewed as an isolated measure; it can unlock its full potential as a transformative intervention when integrated into a comprehensive policy package that includes incentives for low-carbon mobility.

Beneficial outcomes of telework for energy demand and GHG emissions are not a given. A systematic review of 39 pre-pandemic telework studies found evidence of increases in both non-work travel and home energy use (Hook et al., 2020). The telework PTP therefore requires ancillary action to limit rebound effects (more motorised travel, additional leisure travel) for example through higher fuel taxes and better parking management (Ceccato et al., 2022). In the longer term, teleworking may have an uncertain systemic effect on housing preferences, real estate markets, and (de)urbanisation should teleworkers seek to move out of cities and into larger homes.

Workers lacking access to appropriate digital devices, services and skills, as well as suitable domestic conditions, will have lower willingness or capacity to engage in telework practices, preventing the achievement of a PTP. Tackling the digital divide in its various forms therefore represents a sensitive intervention point to fully capitalise on the enabling potential of digital technologies supporting teleworking.