The effects of COVID-19 on virtual working within online groups

Abstract

Employees may continue to work remotely for a substantial amount of time, even after the end of the pandemic. Our established theories of group processes and intergroup relations can help us understand these new ways of working and online group experiences. However, there are key differences in computer-mediated and face-to-face (FtF) groups. In this essay, I present some of the extant robust theories and findings from computer communication research to understand virtual working within online groups. These perspectives include that group processes develop over a longer period of time as compared to FtF, informal communication is neglected, computer-mediated groups have some advantages over FtF groups, sociomateriality is a useful theoretical lens, and dispersion affects group member cognitions about each other. I use my own lab’s work on entitativity as an example of how moving from FtF to online group research can deepen our understanding of both FtF and online groups. The essay concludes with recommendations for future research.

An Assets-Based Response to the Digital Divide: Success for One Summer Youth Employment Program Serving a Minoritized Community During the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…The purpose of this study was to capture the experiences and perspectives of two SYEP staff who, during the COVID-19 pandemic, rapidly transformed an in-person SYEP to a virtual SYEP serving close to 500 interns from minoritized communities for the duration of their summer employment. The study's findings can inform the future practice of SYEPs as many will take on the task of preparing the next generation of young people for a twenty-first century workforce that is moving in the direction of virtual work (Blanchard, 2021).…”

Lost in the matrix: Dialectical tensions in facilitating virtual video groups during COVID-19 pandemic

“…The absence of physical interactions also hinders the ability to sense and process, thus preventing people from enhancing and deepening their communication ( Bender and Dykeman, 2016 ). Finally, informal communication (‘sideway talks’) may be missing in online encounters, and its absence could harm authenticity ( Blanchard, 2021 ; Nadan et al, 2020 ).…”

Successful knowledge exchange in virtual teams—how important is social presence?

“…Bisher arbeiteten vor allem global agierende Organisationen in wissensintensiven und hochdynamischen Bereichen virtuell. Mit Beginn der COVID 19-Pandemie im Frühjahr 2020 und der damit verbundenen Umstellung auf das Arbeiten im Homeoffice sind jedoch derzeit nahezu alle Unternehmen von dieser Entwicklung betroffen, unabhängig von Branche, Größe, Bereich und Einsatzgebiet (Blanchard 2021 ; Klonek et al. 2021 ).…”

“…Diese sorgen zum einen dafür, dass Wissen zwischen den Teammitgliedern dargestellt, vernetzt und transferiert werden kann. Zum anderen reduziert die räumliche Distanz jedoch die direkten und informellen Interaktionen zwischen den Teammitgliedern (Blanchard 2021 ). Letzteres beeinträchtigt den Aufbau von Vertrauen und den Zusammenhalt zwischen den Akteuren und wirkt negativ auf den Wissensaustausch (Aritz et al.…”