Organizational Case Study- We Need a Vacation (1)
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Organizational Case Study- We Need a Vacation
Remote work has been a part of different organizational structures long before the COVID-19 pandemic, however, as stated in the article titled “The Case of Remote Workers Returning,” the pandemic accelerated organizational dependency on technology. When it comes down to it, the choice between remote work and in-person work is truly subjective. However, at an organizational point it is a fundamental decision that must be made based on the unique needs of the organization. In this discussion, we will explore the challenges posed by remote work that are
less likely to be experienced in in-person working environments, as well as the productivity opportunities that are limited in remote environments. Through exploring the questions posed in this assignment we will provide recommendations on whether an organization should adapt fully remote work instead of in person work. 1.
What challenges does remote work face that are less of an obstacle when working in an in-person environment and vice versa? Be sure to explain these in-depth. Remote work has influenced challenging indicators pertaining to the employee’s well-being, performance, and productivity. The specific challenges were reduced productivity, interpersonal exchange, depression, and work-life balance. When looking at productivity and well- being of remote workers, it was found that the consequences of working from home depend on many individuals and work factors. Employees being satisfied with remote work is positively correlated with productivity. When COVID caused people to switch to remote work, employees were stressed because of work-home conflict and work overload. In addition, this was also “an intrusion to employees’ personal life and made it hard to distinguish their work life and home life” (
Case Study). There are several organizational factors that contribute to employees' well- being, causing depression, anxiety, and stress. These factors include overworking, feeling socially isolated, lack of job security, and not being able to access the tools to adequately perform one's job. It was found that while all these factors contribute to ill- being, the main cause
of stress and anxiety was the pandemic itself and the fear of contracting the virus. This essentially leads to the lack of interpersonal exchange due to the lack of social interactions and camaraderie, which resulted in detriment to the organization's productivity. Whereas in-person work provides a substantial amount of productivity and great communication amongst fellow colleagues. It also provides more networking opportunities and a healthier work and personal life.
2.
How are managers able to better promote productivity in an in-person work environment? In an in-person work environment managers can substantially increase productivity by providing a suitable workplace, encouraging stable communication, and allowing self-empowerment.
One very important factor in motivating employees is having a suitable workplace. A workplace that has “The qualities of the five key IEQ (Indoor Environmental Quality) aspects, including layout, air quality, thermal comfort, lighting and acoustic environment, have significantly positive correlations with office productivity” (Kang & Ou, 78). Having a comfortable environment that allows employees to focus fosters a culture that employees want to be a part of. A well-designed office will push workers to collaborate and make connections boosting morale. Another way to cultivate a productive office is to provide recreational space such as a coffee and or tea bar. It’s been said that “...the presence of considerable entertainment facilities leads to high
levels of physical and mental relaxation which resultantly leads to optimum employee job performance” (Khurram & Shaiq, 49).
Having a well-designed environment will promote collaboration but it will take more to establish
stable and effective communication. Managers can accomplish this in the office by holding team meetings to address objectives and challenges. Employees that attend these meetings become knowledgeable about the expertise of other employees and the big picture of the corporation. Managers with strong communication in the workplace can give instant feedback which develops
a consistently evolving workplace which in turn leads to increased productivity.
Employees that take self-empowerment in their work will feel motivated and engaged in their labor. Supporting employees in self-empowerment can be scary for managers so it is important that you can trust your employees. Trust can be built when you communicate the expectations and provide them with opportunities to grow. If you don’t trust them and instead micromanage them, you will do harm. “...micromanagement will generally, at best, create a perpetual environment of dependency, inefficiency, and unease and, at worst, render irreparable harm to staff morale.” (Presutti, 34) If you are always at the employees desk watching them complete tasks you will create resentment. However, if you allow them a chance to be self-reliant, they will take initiative and drive productivity up in the work environment. 3.
As an element of design and structure, what type of culture is created in a remote work organization and how is this different from a culture of in-person work?
Company culture is a shared understanding among employees that illustrates the importance of a healthy work environment and creates guidelines for situational decision-
making. It also represents a system of beliefs that guides social interactions (Paprocki, 2020). Building an effective work culture can do more than just achieve productivity. Increasing employee morale, reduced absenteeism, and better employee motivation are some of the numerous benefits a company could potentially gain. Over the past few years, due to covid, there has been a rapid shift which increased the number of employees working from home. Remote work has transformed the way organizations operate and communicate with each other within work environments. When there is a lack of face-to-face interaction, it is important that those within the company maintain a culture to create a sense of belonging not only for the sake
of the company but also for themselves. Office culture makes it easier to build personal connections because of the convenience of always being physically around your team in meetings, common areas, and even in passing. Brief interactions with others in the office can help to develop a bond and further connections that can increase group productivity and systematic tasks. Managers play a pivotal role in fostering a productive and engaging remote work environment. By consistently supervising and encouraging each team member to participate in online discussions and problem-solving sessions, managers can improve overall workflow, in remote situations (Katarzyna, 2022).
4.
Given what you now know about organizational behavior, what recommendation would an organization have about whether they should use remote work or in-person work as their primary method of operations? An organization’s recommendation on whether they should use remote work or in-person work as their primary method of operations would be majorly dependent on the culture of the workplace, and the nature of the work that is being done by said organization. One of the key arguments for remote work is that several studies have shown that employee satisfaction is closely related to employee productivity (Chatterjee 9) and that employee productivity is ultimately impactful for organizational performance (Chatterjee 4). Take this study with employees working in IT at “MetroTech,” a large multinational financial services corporation with more than 50,000 employees worldwide, where employees work in the regular bureaucratic “waterfall” design or the post-bureaucratic “agile” design (De Laat 6). The waterfall design could be best described as a workplace specializing in digital orientation with open team culture, while the agile design could be best described as a workplace specializing in physical orientation
and on-site team culture (De Laat 17). After various interviews and questionnaires conducted, the
research concluded that, unlike the “waterfall” design, which was mostly accepting of remote work, the “agile” design was not accepting due to its on-site culture. In relation to the question of
which style of work an organization would want to use, it would fully depend on whether there’s already an established culture that has facilitated on-site interactions and culture. However, if an organization that was brand new, had practiced with remote work in the past on a regular basis,
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or hypothetically was starting a separate branch that was remote work only, it would most likely see better results as the expectation among leadership and staff would be set from the very beginning.
All in all, in 2020 the work environment was forced to evolve significantly due to the COVID pandemic and will continue to change in the future. While the change is inevitable, it is important for companies to measure the advantages and disadvantages of both. The criteria, discussed in this paper, were challenges with remote work, how managers play a crucial role in promoting productivity, the different types of culture created depending on where you work and recommendations on which work environment to use. Remote work challenges included limited interpersonal exchange, depression, and work-life balance issues. These challenges can have a huge impact towards the employee’s performance. On the other hand, in-person work offers more opportunities, productivity, networking, and a healthier work balance. This paper also discussed the role managers play in promoting productivity by providing a suitable workplace, encouraging effective communication, and fostering self-empowerment among employees. Lastly, remote work cultures face challenges towards sustaining organizational culture and employee motivation through communication and online tools alone. While in person work cultures often benefit from face-to-face interaction and physical proximity. In the end, the choice between remote work and in-person work should be situated to the organization's culture and the kind of work that is being performed.
All Citations:
Chatterjee, Sheshadri, et al. “Does Remote Work Flexibility Enhance Organization Performance?
Moderating Role of Organization Policy and Top Management Support.” Journal of Business Research, vol. 139, Elsevier BV, Feb. 2022, pp. 1501–1512. Crossref, doi:10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.10.069. (Q4)
De Laat, Kim. “Remote work and post-bureaucracy: Unintended consequences of work design for gender inequality.” ILR Review, vol. 76, no. 1, 2022, pp. 135–159, https://doi.org/10.1177/00197939221076134. (Q4)
De Vincenzi, Clara, et al. “Consequences of Covid-19 on Employees in Remote Working: Challenges, Risks and Opportunities: an Evidence-Based Literature Review.” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 16 Sept. 2022, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9517495/. (Q1)
Kang, Shengxian, Dayi Ou, and Cheuk M. Mak. "The Impact of Indoor Environmental Quality on Work Productivity in University Open-Plan Research Offices."
Building and Environment
, vol. 124, 2017, pp. 78, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360132317302895,
doi:10.1016/j.buildenv.2017.07.003. (Q2)
ŁUKASIK-STACHOWIAK, Katarzyna. “Organizational culture in remote working conditions – home office.” Humanities and Social Sciences Quarterly
, vol. 29, no. 4, 2022, pp. 31–43, https://doi.org/10.7862/rz.2022.hss.24
. (Q3)
Paprocki, R. (2020). Postawy względem pandemii COVID-19 Kultura jako sterownik zachowań w warunkach ryzyka i niepewności, „Pomiary. Automatyka. Robotyka”, R. 24, nr 4/2020. DOI: 10.14313/PAR_238/41. (Q3)
Presutti, Mark. "Is Micromanagement Killing Your Staff?: Long Term Management Care." Nursing Homes
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url=https://www.proquest.com/trade-journals/is-micromanagement-killing-your-
staff/docview/218456609/se-2
. (Q2)
S Khurram, K. A., and Mohammad Shaiq. "Healthy Organizational Environment Enhances Employees' Productivity: An Empirical Evidence to Classical Concept." Journal of Business Strategies
, vol. 13, no. 2, 2019, pp. 49. ProQuest, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360132317302895,
(Q2)
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