Case Study

Lauren works for a global publishing company. Four years ago she was office-based but when her local office (in Vancouver) was closed to save money, she was one of a group of workers who did not want to relocate to the main office located some 150 kilometres away, in Victoria. As she had worked for the company for 15 years, her boss worried about losing her experience and knowledge. Along with Lauren, a number of experienced employees were offered home-based work as an alternative to relocation.

Some of the London team did not feel this would suit them and decided to look for work with competitors in the area. Some accepted relocation in Victoria, a handful of Lauren's colleagues decided to try working from home. Since then the company has closed three more offices and even more employees have taken up the home-working option.

1. Why do you think some of the workers did not want to take the option of home-working?