Abstract
Millions of workers have made the shift to working remotely during the outbreak of Covid-19, irrespective of their tasks, preferences, and abilities. The unprecedented large-scale experiment has challenged our understandings. Well-documented benefits of virtual work have been questioned, while various challenges have emerged and/or become more pronounced. Therefore, practitioners and scholars need to embrace the digital way of working in the coronavirus-forged world by considering how to support virtual work and improve working experiences. The current chapter frames virtual work as a system comprised of social and technical subsystems. To optimize the benefits of virtual work and minimize its potential risks, this chapter introduces a SMART work design approach involving both altering the social subsystem and the technical subsystem. That is, high-quality virtual work is Stimulating, promotes Mastery, supports human Agency, encourages Relational features, and has Tolerable demands (i.e., SMART work).
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Handbook of Virtual Work |
| Editors | Lucy L. Gibson, Thomas O'Neill, M. Travis Maynard |
| Place of Publication | Cheltenham UK |
| Publisher | Edward Elgar Publishing |
| Chapter | 21 |
| Pages | 403-424 |
| Number of pages | 22 |
| Edition | 1st |
| ISBN (Electronic) | 9781802200508 |
| ISBN (Print) | 9781802200492 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2023 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- SMART work design
- Virtual work
- Social subsystem
- Technical subsystem
- Virtual work challenges
- Covid-19
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