In this zone, we critically examine remote and officebased working and explore whether the social aspects of working with technology have been overlooked, ignored or appropriately addressed by organisations.
The twenty first century, alwayson, hyperconnected workplace has heralded a raft of challenges for the organisation and its members. The drive for flexibility and paradigm shift to nontraditional modes of working have impacted on those who choose to work remotely, others who prefer to retain their status as an officebased worker and managers, who must balance the needs of both parties with maintaining organisational efficiency and optimising productivity. Theorists such as Tietze and Nadin67 have voiced their concerns regarding the shift in paradigm and the inevitable impact on workplace dynamics, which it could be argued, has disturbed the status quo. Their first concern centres on the social and organisational relationships that have either been severed, disrupted or destabilised and the ensuing tensions between colleagues and managers that the organisation has had to address.
Their second concern is the ‘relational impoverishment’ that remote and officebased workers, along with their managers, have suffered, which has been catalysed by the increased physical and psychological distance and reduced interpersonal interaction between them. Although remote workers are supported by computermediated technologies, Bélanger et al.68 and Bentley et al.69 proffer that restricted communication is a major issue for organisations, which can significantly impact on levels of job satisfaction and productivity. With all the hype surrounding virtual working, Gajendran and Harrison70 caveat that it is unclear whether extant research can say, with any authority, if remote working is a positive or negative technological and workplace innovation for individuals concerned.
Despite the tranche of wellpublicised benefits that can be derived from remote working, theorists acknowledge some of the negatives that may be experienced.
First, as individuals are working away from the main office location, they could encounter reduced facetoface interaction with their colleagues, line managers, clients and customers.71 Of course, the acuteness of the situation depends on the level of virtuality adopted by the organisation, the local, national and international geographical location at which the work is undertaken and the amount of computermediated communication technologies with which individuals work72 (see Chapter Œ8: Critical Thinking Zone: Reflections on Managing Virtual Teams). The reduced physical interaction might lower the social and relational capital that is generated between stakeholders73, 74 and, arguably, lead to significant knowledge gaps in various parts of the organisation.
Second, Bélanger et al. and Bentley et al. contend that remote workers face social isolation and workplace exclusion in the absence of colocation, which impedes their innate need for affiliation with others.
It might, therefore, result in reduced organisational commitment, higher turnover, lower job satisfaction, burnout and disinterest in, and rejection by, officebased workers. Hence, Morganson et al.71 advocate the importance of workplace inclusion in designing virtual working arrangements and, where possible, ensuring that remote workers have an appropriate amount of social contact with their officebased colleagues.
To counter the negativity and promote more synergy and coordination between remote and officebased workers, Bentley et al. and Bélanger et al. profess the adoption of a sociotechnical systems approach, to achieve some equilibrium between individuals’ need for affiliation and their interaction with, and utilisation of, technology. This would promote the psychosocial aspects of organisational behaviour in the workplace, such as personality, motivation and attitudes to work, colleagues and the organisation at large.68, 75 The transition from office based to remote working is a major strategic change for the organisation and its stakeholders. Research conducted by Tietze and Nadin with a sample of homeworkers in the benefits and taxation units of a local authority, found that it yielded a range of positive and negative issues. First, although participants reported feelings of social isolation, it did not adversely affect productivity, which consequently increased. Many participants overcame the isolation by building networks with other homeworkers, which satiated their need for affiliation and belongingness.
Participants felt they had a greater level of control over their work, which meant they were able dichotomise their work and home lives more effectively and achieve a better work–life balance in the process (see ChapterŒ2: Critical Thinking Zone: Reflections on Work–Life Balance). The introduction of homeworking by the local authority created tensions, negativity and resentment among officebased colleagues, who were not given the option to work from home. Tietze and Nadin concluded that although remote working can be a winwin for all parties concerned, caution should be exercised by organisations, particularly in terms of ensuring that relational aspects of the transition are not ignored but appropriately addressed.
Despite the espoused and evidencebased benefits of flexibility, not all organisations are in favour of remote working.76 The former President and Chief Executive Officer of Yahoo, Marissa Mayer, reportedly banned home working on the basis that it harmed the tech giant’s speed of delivery and innovation, which she believed were the bedrock of its success. Google and Hewlett Packard are further examples of organisations that have curtailed, though not discontinued, their working from home policies and programmes, preferring instead to exploit the benefits of colocation, which include increased collegiality and collaboration, enhanced tacit communication and improved understanding and appreciation of task interdependence within projects.76 Although officebased working is a favourable choice for individuals who prefer the affiliation and sense of belonging that is related to being in one place, Pathak et al.76 caveat that it may not be the best strategy for every organisation – or indeed, every information technology one.
To conclude, in the scrum to embrace the alwayson, hyperconnectedness of the twentyfirstcentury business environment, and exploit consumer and business demand for 24/7 flexibility, McDowall and Kinman75 profess that many organisations have overlooked, underestimated, ignored and thus not appropriately addressed the human, psychosocial aspects of working with technology and the requirement to preserve team cohesion and engender support from colleagues and managers, who may or may not have taken up the option to work remotely. As ‘human capital remains organisations’
greatest asset’ (p. 264), McDowall and Kinman advocate that organisations, along with researchers and practitioners, have a common interest in, and joint responsibility to, generate a better understanding of people–technology interaction, identify how ICTs are influencing major changes in the nature of work and highlight how effective, conducive, healthy and sustainable working can be engendered for all parties in the people–employment relationship. As technology is here to stay, they conclude ‘we cannot put the genie back in the bottle.Œ .Œ .Œ so we need to take an evidencebased approach to how we can work mosteffectively with it’.

1.The viewpoints presented suggest there are pros and cons of remote and officebased working. Identify and critique the implications of each for organisational behaviour in the workplace.

2.It could be argued that a major issue with remote working is the lack of tacit knowledge creation and transfer between all parties concerned. Considering the different levels of virtuality an organisation can adopt, what steps would you recommend to managers to engender more tacit contact?

3.Having reversed their decision to allow homeworking, consider the strategies organisations such as Yahoo can deploy to promote the sociotechnical and psychosocial aspects of working with technology.