Advantages and disadvantages of teleworking in Brazilian public administration: analysis of SERPRO and Federal Revenue experiences

Abstract This study investigates the advantages and disadvantages of teleworking in public administration from the perception of 98 teleworkers and 28 managers at the Brazilian Federal Data Processing Service (SERPRO) and the Federal Revenue Service. Qualitative-quantitative research, consisting of questionnaires applied to teleworkers and interviews with managers, dealt with structural, physical, personal, professional, and psychological aspects. The results showed advantages such as better quality of life, work-family balance, greater productivity and flexibility, the possibility of creating standard metrics, better assessment of the workload, and reduction of costs, stress, commuting time, as well as less exposure to violence. As for disadvantages, the study identified elements such as non-adaptation, lack of communication and connection with the company, psychological problems, lack of infrastructure and control of the teleworker. The research concludes that teleworking requires a management model that makes it more adherent to the public sphere.