Abstract
As new work and internship options arise, educators, employers and students seek information about the learning benefits of these new arrangements. This is also the case in terms of e-internships. The purpose of this study was to assess the merit of the effort-reward imbalance model to understand appreciation and performance as reported by the e-interns (also known as virtual interns). The study involved a cross-sectional sample of e-interns. The sample was recruited using the snowball technique and two specialized internship portals. Participants were grouped into a number of conditions. Effort conditions depended on participants’ reported goal clarity and satisfaction with support. Reward conditions were determined based on the (un-)availability of training and payment in e-internships. When participants fell into high effort or low reward conditions, they reported lower perceived performance. They also felt less valued. The reverse pattern was observed when participants completed their internship under low effort and high reward conditions. By identifying conditions under which e-interns will report higher performance and appreciation, employers are provided with starting points for the design and reward practices. In addition, the results suggest that e-internships may share similar characteristics of traditional internships which may similarly vary in terms of the value and rewards they bring to interns.
Highlights
The adoption of new computer tools and virtual forms of communication has led to the emergence of many different forms of working
Two general research questions arise: What is the effect of low reward and high effort conditions during e-internships? Do any differences arise in terms of the degree to which e-interns feel valued during e-internships?. Along these lines we propose the following two hypotheses for how performance and appreciation are affected under different conditions, both in line with the effort-reward model literature to date: Appreciation and self-reported performance are predicted to be higher when e-interns are in a low effort compared to high effort condition (H1)
The relatively mixed reports about self-reported performance suggest that the e-interns did not inflate their own performance reports as these ranged from unsatisfactory to excellent
Summary
The adoption of new computer tools and virtual forms of communication has led to the emergence of many different forms of working. From tele-working, to virtual work, and the emergence of electronic Human Resource Management. Our notions of work environments have changed, most recently many cities have embraced co-working facilities, designated spaces that provide an ‘office’ like environment to virtual workers. Our experience reports with internship providers and educators have shown that some of these developments have not been embraced as readily. Employers and students unfamiliar with this form of internship or the internship providers are hesitant to recognize the value or learning benefit of such internships. They are often considered as less valuable as actual traditional internships on the site of an organization.
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