De Mythe van de Gelukkige Telewerker

This article explores the effects of the implementation of ‘Het Nieuwe Werken’ (the ‘New Way of Working’) in the Netherlands. It critically examines the claims in regards to increased job satisfaction made by a proponent of ‘Het Nieuwe Werken’ Dik Bijl, using the Job Characteristics Model (JCM) by Hackman and Oldham. The main hypothesis being that autonomy would mediate the positive influence, which is assumed to exist by Bijl, between teleworking and job satisfaction. Using logistical regression-analysis on data from the 4th European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS) this study finds no positive or negative influence of teleworking on job satisfaction. Therefore, there can be no mediation upon this relationship by the factor of autonomy. Directions for future research on the relation between teleworking and job satisfaction and the influence of factors other then autonomy are given, since it appears that increased autonomy alone cannot lead to increased job satisfaction.