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  • 'Location, Location, Location': An Exploration of Different Workplace Contexts in Remote Teamwork during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Title: 'Location, Location, Location': An Exploration of Different Workplace Contexts in Remote Teamwork during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Much emphasis has been placed on how the affordances and layouts of an office setting can influence co-worker interactions and perceived team outcomes. Little is known, however, whether perceptions of teamwork and team conflict are affected when the location of work changes from the office to the home. To address this gap, we present findings from a ten-week,in situ study of 91 information workers from 27 US-based teams. We compare three distinct work locations---private and shared workspaces at home as well at the office---and explore how each location may impact individual perceptions of teamwork. While there was no significant association with participants' perceptions of teamwork, results revealed associations of work location with team conflict: participants who worked in a private room at home reported significantly lower team conflict compared to those working in the office. No difference was found for the office and the shared workspace. We further found that the influence of work location on team conflict interacted with job decision latitude and the level of task interdependence among co-workers. We discuss practical implications for full-time work from home (WFH) on teams. Our study adds an important environmental dimension to the literature on remote teaming, which in turn may help organizations as they consider, prepare, or implement more permanent WFH and/or hybrid work policies in the future.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
1928612
PAR ID:
10473180
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ; ; ; ; ;
Publisher / Repository:
IEEE
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction: Computer Supported Collaborative Work
Volume:
7
Issue:
CSCW1
ISSN:
2573-0142
Page Range / eLocation ID:
1 to 22
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
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