Virtual Work Environment Research Articles

Mutual trust and employee performance of virtual and face-to-face dyads in multilatina organisations

Abstract Firms are calling their employees back to the office because of concerns about employee productivity, collaboration, and trust. Thus, knowledge about the psychosocial aspects of virtual work environments is now more essential than ever. This study compared the relationships between mutual cognitive trust and employee performance in virtual and face-to-face leader–member dyads. Numerous studies have adopted a unidirectional approach to leader–member trust, exhibiting difficulties related to common method bias. The validity of previous research results comparing trust in face-to-face and virtual leader–member dyads can also be questioned because of other methodological drawbacks. We examined mutual trust and employee performance using different raters. We utilised the multigroup exploratory approach to simultaneously analyse face-to-face and virtual dyads formed by 180 leaders and 561 employees working at a multilatina company. Our results reveal the existence of differences between virtual and face-to-face leader–member dyads vis-à-vis mutual cognitive trust and employee performance relationship.

Enter the School Online Promoter for Online Course Success

Often schools are unable to offer a wide curriculum at the Pre-tertiary level (16-18 year olds) because of small cohorts or limited finance to employ the full-time specialist. Some schools, however, have incorporated alternative online instruction instead of conventional direct instruction. However, these online Pre-tertiary learners have to negotiate with working in an unfamiliar virtual working environment, lack of sustained motivation, and the sense of being anonymous and not accountable in any meaningful way. Using data based on 20 interviews with international Pre-tertiary students, school staff, and online provider administrative staff, we propose the Online Partnership Model that has the potential to address these motivational and accountability challenges. In this model, the online provider formally trains and continually works together with an “Online promoter” who is a designated member of the school’s staff that is in regular face-to-face contact with the online student. The findings indicate that the motivational role of the Online promoter is welcomed by students, schools, and the online provider as being crucially supportive to student motivational well-being in the virtual environment. With such support, online delivery could well be a viable means of enabling schools to widen their curriculum without having to employ additional staff. For schools, this means that they can offer more specialized subjects (for example, Economics, Psychology, Film Studies, Mandarin) in their curricula where the small number of students does not justify employing a specialist teacher.

The relationship between virtual work climate and digital creativity: The role of remote work self‐efficacy and proactive personality

In the era of the digital economy, enhancing the digital creativity of remote workers is paramount for organizations. Our research, informed by insights from individual perceptions of climate and social cognition, introduces and examines a robust theoretical framework for comprehending the ways in which remote workers foster digital creativity within a virtual work environment. Utilizing this framework, we hypothesized about the correlation between a virtual work climate and digital creativity. To test our hypothesis, we embarked on an empirical study that involved a two‐stage survey, resulting in 331 valid responses. The findings reveal a positive correlation between the virtual work climate and digital creativity. Furthermore, we discovered that remote work self‐efficacy plays a role in partially mediating this relationship. The data also indicates that a proactive personality not only strengthens the connection between the virtual work climate and digital creativity but also enhances the link between the virtual work climate and remote work self‐efficacy. Intriguingly, a proactive personality also intensifies the mediating role of remote work self‐efficacy in the relationship between the virtual work climate and digital creativity. These insights shed light on the specific processes and conditions that amplify digital creativity among employees via a virtual work climate. We suggest that organizations can significantly boost the digital creativity of their remote workforce by cultivating a supportive virtual work climate.

Industrial Metaverse as a New Component of Digital Transformation: A Bibliometric Analysis

Abstract— The digital transformation process in businesses operates within the data and knowledge cycle. This cycle ensures that all functions and units of an business collaborate effectively to achieve maximum efficiency from technological advancements. Recently, industrial metaverse technology has emerged as a new catalyst in the digital transformation process. This technology integrates with various other technologies to generate a virtual work environment akin to the physical workspace. The objective of this study is to identify the technologies and processes that industrial metaverse technology collaborates with and to provide a vision for researchers and businesses interested in this field. To achieve this objective, a bibliometric analysis was conducted on studies indexed in the Web of Science (WoS) and Scopus databases using the keyword "industrial metaverse." The analysis included a total of 60 studies: 44 from the Scopus database and 16 from the WoS database. A comprehensive examination of these 60 studies was performed, with data compiled manually and analyzed using the Vosviewer application. The study concluded that industrial metaverse technology is associated with processes such as smart production, employee-technology collaboration, ensuring the functionality of the data and knowledge cycle infrastructure, employee training, and environmental sustainability. Additionally, technologies such as digital twins, blockchain, virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), Industrial Internet of Things (IIOT), and artificial intelligence (AI) form the infrastructure of industrial metaverse technology. Keywords— Digital transformation, Industrial metaverse, knowledge management, technology and innovation management, Industry 5.0

The Relationship Between Ethical Leadership and Emotional Exhaustion in a Virtual Work Environment: A Moderated Mediation Model

The role of ethical leadership in virtual settings is not yet clearly defined, but it may be the key to addressing employees’ emotional exhaustion. In addition, to prevent emotional exhaustion, it is important to determine the role of work autonomy and teleworking intensity. The present research examined how and when ethical leadership influences emotional exhaustion through work autonomy and teleworking intensity. Data collected from 448 workers in the Colombian electrical sector were analyzed using a SEM moderated mediation model. The results indicate a positive relationship between ethical leadership and emotional exhaustion mediated by work autonomy. The results also show that teleworking intensity moderates the mediation process. Specifically, the positive impact of ethical leadership on emotional exhaustion stopped when teleworking intensity was high. Likewise, high teleworking intensity intensified the positive relationship between ethical leadership and work autonomy. Finally, high teleworking intensity dampened the positive relationship between work autonomy and emotional exhaustion. In conclusion, working virtually five days a week is a strategy that amplifies the leader-member relationship and becomes an advantage to effectively combat emotional exhaustion. The results obtained in this research are particularly relevant because they show for the first time that ethical leadership can have opposite effects on employees’ emotional exhaustion, both positive and negative, depending on the number of days teleworked, thus contributing to a new understanding of the characteristics of the ethical leader in a virtual environment.

Examining the Prevalence and Effects of Gender-based Violence in Academic Settings: A Systematic Review and Meta-analyses.

Gender-based violence (GBV) in the academic job sector is a critical issue that intersects with broader systemic and structural inequities, but research is limited. To study the prevalence, effects, and prevention measures of interpersonal GBV within the academic job sector, a meta-analysis and systematic review was conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis protocol. Rigorous searches were conducted across the databases PubMed, OVID, Scopus, Web of Science, and CINAHL, using specific keywords related to GBV, workplace, and virtual work environments, identifying papers published between January 2013 and February 2023. Studies were evaluated based on the Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcomes framework. Data from papers were extracted and grouped by reported instances, and prevalence data for interpersonal GBV were reported in university settings, including in-person, hybrid, and virtual environments, and among men, women, and those who identify as 2SLGBTQ+. A random effects meta-analysis of proportions was conducted to evaluate the reported point prevalence rates of interpersonal GBV in academia between 2012 and 2015. Subgroup analyses were performed for university staff only, females only, and males only. Out of the 1,290 records, 16 studies met the inclusion criteria. The types of violence identified include sexual harassment, workplace bullying and online harassment, which affects career advancement, and employee well-being. The meta-analyses, conducted with a 95% confidence interval [CI], identified that 51.4% (95% CI [39.9%, 63.0%]) of university staff members experience GBV, with females, 59.3% [38.1%, 80.5%], experiencing greater rates than males, 44% [28.1%, 44.1%]. The findings underscore the need for institutional interventions to address interpersonal GBV in academic workplaces.

Agility in virtual environments: the socio-technical approach of distributed agile teams

PurposeThis study aims to understand how distributed agile teams (DATs), encouraged by globalisation, and recently accelerated by the COVID-19 outbreak, adopt agile practices to achieve project goals by working virtually.Design/methodology/approachThis study developed a multiple-case study involving four companies undergoing several changes, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. The authors collected data mainly through in-depth, face-to-face interviews with seven key informants. Moreover, this study operates data triangulation by referring to secondary data sources and developing a grounded theory data analysis.FindingsThe findings highlight three main categories associated with the DAT functioning, namely, “DATs’ implementation issues”, “elements supporting DATs’ implementation” and “outcomes of DATs’ implementation”, that show DATs’ primary triggers, critical aspects and supportive actions for team functioning.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper produced valuable theoretical knowledge of DATs’ dynamics within a socio-technical approach that distinguishes soft and hard variables supporting DAT implementation. Moreover, the evidence provides useful suggestions for managers about creating an objective-oriented virtual work environment based on DATs’ self-organisation, digitally shared leadership and occasional on-site socialisation.Originality/valueThis paper provides new and interesting insights that bring to evidence the main variables related to DATs’ adoption and dynamics, showing supporting activities that enhanced their operativity. It provides a valuable descriptive framework for academics and practitioners to understand DATs’ functioning better and take action to improve their implementation.

Creativity and Emotional Exhaustion in Virtual Work Environments: The Ambiguous Role of Work Autonomy.

To analyze the relationship between creativity and emotional exhaustion, along with the role assumed by work autonomy in this link, in an online work context. The sample was formed of 448 employees with university studies. The statistical analysis was conducted through a simple moderation process. Creativity and work autonomy mitigate emotional exhaustion. In fact, work autonomy plays a moderating role regarding the relationship between creativity and emotional exhaustion. Control over work surely reduces the impact of work-related stressors, and this safety climate promotes adaptive and original responses that improve employees' emotional health. However, when creative demands coincide with an autonomy that extends working hours, instead of establishing limits, this supposed benefit becomes a demand that prevents employees from disconnecting, until emotionally exhausting them. A virtual work environment is an ideal habitat for creativity and self-management to improve employees' emotional health, as long as work autonomy acts as a resource.

Can supervisors dwindle turnover in virtual teams?

Purpose Virtual teams allow companies to recruit the best talents, regardless of their geographic location, which is particularly relevant in the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector given the high shortage of qualified human capital. However, the space and time flexibility of these professionals also present other challenges to Human Resource Management, such as work engagement and employee retention. This study aims to assess the extent to which supervisor support can influence work engagement and turnover intention in virtual teams. Design/methodology/approach We use a sample of 420 ICT Portuguese professionals who work in virtual teams to test a conceptual model with partial least squares (PLS). Findings The study results show that supervisor support decreases employee's intention to leave their job. We also found that work engagement mediates the relationship between supervisor support and work engagement. Results show that older employees present higher levels of work engagement and employees with longer tenure perceive less supervisor support. Originality/value This study contributes to elucidate the role played by supervisors in influencing employee engagement and retention in virtual work environments.

Countering technostress in virtual work environments: The role of work-based learning and digital leadership in enhancing employee well-being

Virtual work has been highlighted as an important business trend nowadays. Technostress caused by information and communication technology threatens employee well-being in a virtual context. We integrate insights from the Job Demands-Resources theory to explore the impact of technostress on employee well-being and examine work-based learning and digital leadership capability as buffers of this negative impact via the attenuating effect of work exhaustion. We collected multi-wave survey data from 300 virtual employees to test the theoretical model. Results revealed a significant negative impact of technostress on employee well-being. However, work-based learning and digital leadership capability buffered employees' well-being from this negative effect by reducing their work exhaustion. Our findings extend our understanding of work design and shed light on how to cope with virtual work demands.

2D4-4 Enhancing Virtual Work Environments: Designing for Optimal Sence of Self-Location

2D4-4 Enhancing Virtual Work Environments: Designing for Optimal Sence of Self-Location

Can metacognition determine employee performance in the context of virtual workspace? An empirical investigation

PurposeThe pandemic has necessitated employees to work virtually due to mandatory work-from-home setup. Since every employee is not comfortable working online owing to their individual differences which impact performance, thus, it is essential to identify individual characteristics governing performance. As per conventional theories, cognition and metacognition have a significant impact on employee performance, and the key to performance in a collaborative online environment also is metacognition. However, this has been scarcely explored in the context of virtual workspace. This study, therefore, empirically investigates the influence of metacognition and its sub-domains on employees' virtual performance given the challenges they face in a virtual work environment.Design/methodology/approachThe cross-sectional study used a purposive sampling technique for data collection. Data collected from 534 professionals with high and low levels of metacognitive ability is analysed using univariate analysis to ascertain whether metacognitive ability helps employees deal with challenges associated with virtual work environments and perform better.FindingsResults confirm a significant relationship between the level of metacognitive ability and virtual performance. Further, the findings also confirm the interaction effect of the level of metacognitive ability and challenge of maintaining work and non-work boundaries and the need for the physical presence of team member/s in predicting virtual performance.Originality/valueThis study is the first empirical attempt to examine the linkage between metacognitive ability and performance among professionals in the context of post-pandemic virtual work environment and challenges.

Examining the Virtual Leadership of Leaders in Higher Education During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Case Study

<p>During the COVID-19 pandemic, student services leaders needed to adapt to working entirely virtually, find creative solutions to adjust their service delivery, and change how they engaged with their teams. Before COVID-19, studies of virtual leadership focused on virtual teams developed because of the geographical distance between team members. This qualitative study investigated virtual leadership and virtual teams developed because of the move to virtual work during the COVID-19 pandemic. It examined how student services leaders changed their leadership behaviours in response to moving to the virtual work environment. Using data gathered through a questionnaire, interviews, and documentation, four themes reflecting how leaders changed their behaviours and practices were identified: reimagining communication, reconstructing work using technology, reframing team support, and reorienting toward hybrid work. Understanding how these leaders managed their virtual teams at a midsized university in southern Ontario provides insight into what practices might be helpful for teams that continue exclusively virtual work and those that transition to a hybrid work approach.</p>

Factors affecting Virtual Work Arrangements and organizational performance: Assessed within the context of Nepalese organizations

Purpose: This study aimed to examine the factors affecting virtual work arrangements (VWAs) and their impact on organizational performance (OP) within Nepalese organizations.Design/methodology/approach: The study utilized a quantitative research methodology, employing a sample size of 408 individuals engaged in a virtual work environment. It conducted empirical research to examine the impact of communication satisfaction (CS), job satisfaction (JS), support in computer anxiety (CA), and personal empowerment (PE) on OP.Findings: The study's findings revealed that CA had the highest significance level (β = 0.466, p < 0.05) in predicting enhanced OP. Likewise, it was seen that PE had a positive impact (β = 0.385, p < 0.05) on OP, indicating that organizational outcomes often improve when individuals experience a sense of empowerment. Additionally, it was worth noting that there was a statistically insignificant but positive association between CA and OP (β = 0.086, p > 0.05), suggesting that CA does not support enhanced OP. In contrast, JS has a negative and insignificant relationship with OP (β = - 0.097, p > 0.05) at VWAs in Nepal.Research Implications/Value: Such findings contribute to a greater comprehension of the factors influencing OP in Nepalese VWAs. In order to have a comprehensive understanding of the interplay between VWAs and OP, future research must examine additional elements and conduct more in-depth investigations.

Integrating Embodied Social Presence Theory and Process Virtualization Theory to assess business process virtualizability: The mediating role of embodied co-presence.

In the digital era, the integration of technology within business processes is pivotal for organizational efficiency. This study investigates the impact of IT characteristics-specifically IT representation, IT reach, and monitoring capability-on the virtualizability of business processes, utilizing the frameworks of Embodied Social Presence Theory (ESPT) and Process Virtualization Theory (PVT). Our objective is to explore how these IT characteristics, through the mediation of embodied co-presence, enhance business process virtualizability in the context of collaborative tools. Addressing a gap in existing literature, we propose that beyond facilitating virtualization, IT characteristics deeply influence virtual processes by integrating human-centric experiences of co-presence. To examine this, we analyzed data from 311 Korean employees with remote work experience during the COVID-19 pandemic using Smart-PLS 4. Our findings indicate that IT representation and IT reach significantly contribute to business process virtualizability, mediated by embodied co-presence. Surprisingly, monitoring capability did not significantly affect either embodied co-presence or process virtualizability, challenging initial assumptions. This study bridges ESPT and PVT to offer new insights into the roles of IT characteristics in process virtualization, highlighting the importance of human-centric IT design. The results provide valuable guidance for businesses and developers of collaborative tools, underscoring the need to enhance virtual work environments through technology that fosters a sense of presence and collaboration.

The Impact of Autonomous Virtual Work Environments on Job Satisfaction and Organizational Effectiveness

The Impact of Autonomous Virtual Work Environments on Job Satisfaction and Organizational Effectiveness

The mediator role of ethical climate perception on the relationship between cyberbullying victimization and turnover intention: A research on remote workers

Purpose- The more inclusion of information communication technologies in business life has also brought a new type of bullying which is cyberbullying. Traditional bullying has evolved into cyberbullying behavior in working life as a result of the increase in communication through information technologies with the increase in the remote working system and virtual work environments. In previous studies, the effect of cyberbullying on turnover intention was examined. Nonetheless, the mediating role of ethical climate in the relationship between these two has not been examined. This research is aimed to examine the association between cyberbullying victimization and turnover intention and to determine whether ethical climate perception performs as a moderator in that relationship. Methodology- A qualitative study was carried out and purposive sampling method and snowball technique were used to obtain a sample of 204 white-collar workers who are working remotely at least 1 day a week outside of the office and working mainly in İstanbul and Kocaeli in Turkey. The analysis of data were done by using SPSS program. Findings- The results showed that there is a positive relationship between cyberbullying and turnover intention, and ethical climate perception has a mediating role in this relationship. Conclusion- This paper showed how critical the concept of cyberbullying is for organizations in business life by showing the relationship between intention to leave and cyberbullying victimization and the mediating role that the perception of ethical climate may have in this relationship. Moreover, this study has made practical contributions about how important ethical codes in companies are to ensure that employees do not leave their jobs by trusting the organization when they are exposed to negative behavior such as cyberbullying. Keywords: Cyberbullying, cyberbullying victimization, ethical climate, turnover intention, remote workers JEL Codes: J24, J81, M14

Safely navigating global virtual teams amid the threat of cyberbullying

In this research, the prevailing issue of cyberbullying within global virtual teams (GVTs) is investigated through the lens of two qualitative studies. The research highlights key antecedents and causes of cyberbullying and underscores the importance of deterrent factors, including organizational policies, team cultures, leadership styles, and peer support. The role of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in these dynamics is scrutinized, along with the challenges introduced by team diversity. Despite existing measures and policies, the study emphasizes the need for a proactive and comprehensive strategy focusing on preventing cyberbullying instead of merely addressing its after-effects. It further suggests several preventive measures for organizations and leaders to effectively tackle cyberbullying. These include implementing culturally sensitive ethical training, enforcing robust organizational policies, and fostering leadership that appreciates and upholds diversity, thus contributing to a safer, respectful, and inclusive virtual working environment.

Коучинг в управлении развитием образовательной организации в условиях кризиса

The crisis situation, the pandemic, with the closure of the educational space, has stimulated the integration of the virtual environment and digital technology into the educational space and has brought new leadership challenges. We investigated the experience of employees in the educational space (schools with adapted programmes, primary schools and secondary schools) during the pandemic. We found that employees experienced the negative aspect of facing the pandemic requirements for a virtual work environment. They were faced with the challenge of seeking help during the work process. They also had problems with remote work effectiveness, motivation and satisfaction. We were interested in the school leaders' response to work, the role of the leadership in the process of employee adaptation, and how to identify, understand and use the development tool of coaching when working in a virtual environment. A development tool is an aid to the work process, which enhances work performance. The study confirmed that a development-oriented work process depends on a higher utility value of coaching, from a positive employee response to the use of digital technologies in the work process and leaders' support in this. To the extent that employees were more open to using the Internet in the work process, they also reacted more positively to the new working conditions which required shifting online during the pandemic. A more positive response was also present in those where the leader's support was higher. We also detected a more positive response to the work process among employees who expressed an opinion about the higher useful value of coaching during the work process. We found that employees' response to online technologies was quite positive. Employees' response to the virtual work process was positive. Employees were open to the use of online technologies if the role of the employer was supportive. This leads to a better development-oriented work process.

Wine Production through Virtual Environments with a Focus on the Teaching–Learning Process

This paper focuses on the application of the hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) technique in the winemaking process. The HIL technique provides an effective methodology to test and verify the automatic control of industrial processes in 3D laboratory environments. Two parts are considered: (i) software, which consists of the virtualization of the wine process in order to generate a realistic work environment that allows the student to manipulate the system while visualizing the changes in the process; and (ii) hardware, through which the process control is implemented in ladder language in a PLC S7 1200 AC/DC/RLY (programmable logic controller). Bidirectional Ethernet TCP/IP communication is established, achieving a client–server architecture. This article highlights the main advantages of the HIL technique, such as its ability to simulate complex and extreme scenarios that would be difficult or expensive to recreate in a real environment. In addition, real-time testing of the hardware and software to implement the control system is performed, allowing for fast and accurate responses. Finally, a usability table is obtained that demonstrates the benefits of performing industrial process control work in virtual work environments, focusing the development on meaningful learning processes for engineering students.