Telecommuters Working Remotely in Interdependent Virtual Teams: The Lines Between Work and Home

Abstract

The lack of understanding about the process by which individuals subjectively experience remote work in virtual teams led to a phenomenological study drawing data from 10 interviews with telecommuters, who worked remotely more than 80% of the time. Using in-depth, semi-structured interviews, study findings contribute to the literature on Virtual Human Resource Development (VHRD) with five aspects of working remotely in virtual teams: (1) Telecommuters perceive time as an elastic, boundless aspect of how they work; (2) Telecommuters perceive increased effectiveness as a result of their work arrangements; (3) Individual initiative mediates the challenges of the social and emotional experience of telecommuting; (4) The social and emotional experience of telecommuting in virtual teams is impacted by the perception of others; and (5) The emotional experience of presence is enhanced by informal interactions. The article concludes with implications for VHRD scholars and practitioners in the post-COVID-19 workplace.