Supporting fluid teams: a research agenda

Fluid teams are teams that are rapidly assembled from across disciplines or areas of expertise to address a near-term problem. They are typically composed of individuals who have no prior familiarity with one another, who as a team must begin work immediately, and who disband at the completion of the task. Prior research has noted the challenges posed by this unique type of team context. To date, fluid teams have been understudied, yet their relevance and application in the modern workplace is expanding. This Perspective article presents a concise overview of critical research gaps and opportunities to support selection, training, and workplace design for fluid teams.

Sharing leadership behaviors in virtual teams: effects of shared leadership behaviors on team member satisfaction and productivity

Purpose

Virtual collaboration in teams becomes increasingly popular at work. With the advantages of working in virtual teams come leadership challenges for which the shared leadership theory is discussed as a potential solution. While previous empirical studies investigating shared leadership in virtual teams generally confirm positive effects on team outcomes, this study aims to investigate in detail the leadership behaviors that are typically shared in these settings and how these shared leadership behaviors affect individual level outcomes.

Design/methodology/approach

Individuals from different teams participated in a questionnaire study (n = 411). Structural equation modeling was used to assess the effects of shared task- and relations-oriented leadership behaviors on team member’s subjectively perceived productivity and satisfaction with leadership.

Findings

Results indicate that shared task-oriented leadership behaviors have a significant positive effect on subjectively perceived productivity and satisfaction with leadership, while relations-oriented leadership behaviors have a significant negative effect. A hypothesis stipulating a moderating effect of task interdependence was not confirmed.

Practical implications

Practical implications include that in virtual teams with hierarchical organizational structures, it may be recommended that task-oriented leadership behaviors are shared among team members, whereas relations-oriented leadership behaviors should remain the responsibility of the official leader.

Originality/value

The findings complement previous research with new insights on behavioral dimensions of shared leadership and their effects on outcomes on the level of the individual.

Does Remote Work Make People Happy? Effects of Flexibilization of Work Location and Working Hours on Happiness at Work and Affective Commitment in the German Banking Sector

(1) Background: In view of the advancing digitalization of the German banking sector, offering remote work can be an opportunity for banks to meet changing customer and employee needs at the same time. It allows flexible consultations at changing locations and, due to the high degree of autonomy, it also increases motivation, meaningfulness, happiness at work, and commitment. (2) Methods: This study used a quasi-experimental design to investigate how remote work affects happiness at work and affective commitment among employees in a German public bank. Therefore, two groups of customer advisors were examined, who work either remotely (N = 32) or stationary (N = 110) at similar tasks. (3) Results: The group comparisons show significantly higher values overall on three of the investigated four happiness dimensions (“meaningfulness”, “self-actualization”, and “community professional”) for employees in the remote group. Commitment also differs, as employees in the remote group show significantly stronger commitment. The quantitative results were confirmed by qualitative interviews. (4) Conclusions: By investigating the positive effects of remote working, this study shows new findings on what is likely to be a growing design form of New Work in the future. The study provides evidence that self-selected work environments and working hours offer an opportunity to make work more conducive to happiness—even in a sector that still undergoes significant shifts.

Understanding and shaping the future of work with self-determination theory

Self-determination theory has shaped our understanding of what optimizes worker motivation by providing insights into how work context influences basic psychological needs for competence, autonomy and relatedness. As technological innovations change the nature of work, self-determination theory can provide insight into how the resulting uncertainty and interdependence might influence worker motivation, performance and well-being. In this Review, we summarize what self-determination theory has brought to the domain of work and how it is helping researchers and practitioners to shape the future of work. We consider how the experiences of job candidates are influenced by the new technologies used to assess and select them, and how self-determination theory can help to improve candidate attitudes and performance during selection assessments. We also discuss how technology transforms the design of work and its impact on worker motivation. We then describe three cases where technology is affecting work design and examine how this might influence needs satisfaction and motivation: remote work, virtual teamwork and algorithmic management. An understanding of how future work is likely to influence the satisfaction of the psychological needs of workers and how future work can be designed to satisfy such needs is of the utmost importance to worker performance and well-being.

Technology is changing the nature of work by enabling new forms of automation and communication. In this Review, Gagné et al. describe how self-determination theory can help researchers and practitioners to shape the future of work to ensure that it meets the psychological needs of workers.

What will mobile and virtual work look like in the future?—Results of a Delphi-based study

This contribution to the journal “Group. Interaction. Organization.” (GIO) takes a closer look at the mobile work of the future. Mobile work as well as virtual collaboration is becoming more and more integrated into our everyday working lives—not least reinforced by the COVID-19 Pandemic. In a Delphi-based study, we investigated the question of what mobile and virtual work will look like in the future. For this purpose, 35 future scenarios were described or processed in four rounds with a total of 460 experts and their desirability and probability of occurrence were evaluated. Positive developments are expected for the organization in terms of technology (e.g., advances in virtuality and artificial intelligence), leadership (e.g., increase in shared leadership and participation) and the work-life integration of employees (e.g., more flexibility and self-management). Negative effects are seen for teamwork (e.g., it becomes more difficult to build and maintain team cohesion and social exchange). How the challenges can be dealt with in terms of work design is shown and discussed.

Global Virtual Team Leadership Scale (GVTLS) Development in Multinational Companies

As a result of developments in technology, globalization and digitalization, virtual teams have become indispensable for many industries. Transformations in information and communication technology have provided new opportunities for businesses to create and manage virtual teams. Today, all organizations have had to introduce new methods of communication and have started to continue their conversations through digital platforms. It has become inevitable for teams to form in such virtual environments. Virtual team members are made up of individuals from different genders, experiences, cultures and geographic locations. While there are leaders in virtual teams as in face-to-face environments, this type of leadership performs its function through information and communication technologies, unlike traditional types. Although there are many studies on face-to-face leadership in academic studies and despite the increasing use of digital platforms, it is observed that there is a need for studies on leadership styles in virtual organizations. The main purpose of this study is to create a scale about leadership characteristics in virtual teams. With the present study, it is aimed to develop a valid and reliable scale in order to discover and analyze the virtual team leadership characteristics of individuals within the multinational companies. During the scale development process, literature review, focus group interviews and statistical analysis were used to create the items to be included in the scale. First of all, focus group discussions were conducted by examining the scale developments on the leadership phenomenon. A total of three focus group interviews were held; expert opinions were used to ensure the content validity of the results, and a draft scale with 29 items was created as a result.

Unpacking the Role of Feedback in Virtual Team Effectiveness

Feedback is a cornerstone of human development. Not surprisingly, it plays a vital role in team development. However, the literature examining the specific role of feedback in virtual team effectiveness remains scattered. To improve our understanding of feedback in virtual teams, we identified 59 studies that examine how different feedback characteristics (content, source, and level) impact virtual team effectiveness. Our findings suggest that virtual teams benefit particularly from feedback that (a) combines performance-related information with information on team processes and/or psychological states, (b) stems from an objective source, and (c) targets the team as a whole. By integrating the existing knowledge, we point researchers in the direction of the most pressing research needs, as well as the practices that are most likely to pay off when designing feedback interventions in virtual teams.

Something Old or Something New?

Abstract. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic forced organizations to adjust co-located teams to virtual teams instantly. The applicability of known success factors for virtual teamwork to this situation is uncertain. Therefore, this study addresses the following research question: what factors relate to successful team adjustment to the new virtual work context? We hypothesize that perceived team success is influenced by individual and team factors and that these effects of team-related factors on perceived team success are moderated by team processes and team-/task-technology fit. A time-lagged online study was conducted at two timepoints during the initial lockdown in Germany with N = 110 employees working in teams. We found trust, task-technology fit, and communication to be significantly associated with perceived team performance. The results suggest that the instant adjustment might have led to a new phase related to team cycle episodes. We propose guidelines to prepare teams for future instant adjustments.

Managing the Crisis: How COVID‐19 Demands Interact with Agile Project Management in Predicting Employee Exhaustion

As a global pandemic, COVID‐19 impacts work‐related processes, placing strain upon many employees in project teams. Identifying process variables and potential organizational resources can play an important role in addressing employee mental health, both for the current pandemic and future crises. Based on an extension of the job demands–resources model, this paper introduces COVID‐19 demands as distal job demands, examining their influence on emotional exhaustion through proximal unfinished tasks. Furthermore, we suggest that agile project management acts as a buffering job resource in this relationship. In two studies, we drew samples from Germany (N = 168) and the USA (N = 292). Across studies, COVID‐19 demands had an indirect effect on emotional exhaustion, mediated by unfinished tasks. Furthermore, agile project management acts as a buffering job resource for individuals in Germany, attenuating the relationship between COVID‐19 demands, unfinished tasks and subsequent feelings of emotional exhaustion. In contrast, findings from Study 2 revealed that COVID‐19 demands were more strongly related to unfinished tasks and subsequent feelings of emotional exhaustion in the USA when individuals reported higher levels of agile project management. Taken together, our results indicate that project work under COVID‐19 fosters feelings of emotional exhaustion through the accumulation of unfinished tasks.

Supporting Team Reflexivity During the COVID-19 Lockdown: A Qualitative Study of Multi-Vision Groups In-person and Online

Introduction: The professional self is often hindered by a lack of self-care and poor work-life balance, and cannot be considered an unlimited resource. Given this, the reflexive team is an important organizational tool for protecting workers' well-being. The non-profit organization Maestri di Strada (MdS) ("Street Teachers") conducts action research (AR) in the area of socio-education. The main tool used by the group to protect the well-being of its members is a guided reflexivity group, inspired by the Balint Group and termed the Multi-Vision Group (MG). In March 2020, because of the COVID-19 lockdown, the MdS team had to quickly revamp its working model, and MGs were held online for the first time. Aim: Through qualitative research that takes a longitudinal approach, the aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of the MG in supporting the team's reflexivity in this new online format. Methods: This article considers MGs during two different time periods: pre-pandemic (T1) and early pandemic (T2). During T1, the MdS team met 18 times in person, while during T2 the team met 12 times through an online platform (always under the guidance of a psychotherapist). During all sessions in both time periods, a silent observer was present in the meetings, and they subsequently compiled narrative reports. The textual corpora of the reports were submitted for a Thematic Analysis of Elementary Contexts through T-Lab Plus, in order to examine the main content of the groups' discourse. Results: The results (five clusters in T1; and five in T2) show that, during T2, the group devoted considerable time to experiences tied to the pandemic (T21: schools facing the pandemic crisis; T2.2: the pandemic: death, inner worlds, and thought resistance; T2.3: kids' stories involving physical distancing and emotional proximity). The group also came up with innovative educational initiatives that defied the lockdown (T2.4: fieldwork: the delivery of "packages of food for thought"; T2.5: the MdS group: identity and separation). Based on these findings, the MG most likely contributed to the emergence of MdS as a "resilient community," capable of absorbing the shock of the pandemic and realizing a fast recovery response.

Did the COVID-19 Lock-Down Make Us Better at Working in Virtual Teams?

The COVID-19 pandemic was a key event forcing an increase in virtual work. Drawing on event system theory, we examined whether virtual teams showed enhanced processes in later stages of the pandemic compared to the early stages of the pandemic. We collected data from 54 virtual teams ( N = 152 individuals) who worked on a 30-minute task. We measured team processes and performance. Virtual teams during the post-transition phase (June–August 2020) showed better levels of team action processes and conflict management compared to teams working in the immediate transition phase (March–May 2020), indicative of an adaptation effect.

Veränderungspotenziale durch die Digitalisierung der gewerkübergreifenden Kooperation von kleinen und mittleren Unternehmen im Baugewerbe in Richtung Building Information Modeling (BIM) – Eine Fallanalyse

In diesem Fallbeispiel der Zeitschrift „Gruppe. Interaktion. Organisation (GIO)“ wird abgeleitet, wie sich die unternehmens- und gewerkübergreifende Kooperation im Baugewerbe durch die Einführung eines digitalen Tools zur 3D-Modellierung von Gebäuden verändern könnte. Die Digitalisierung durchdringt das Baugewerbe (Naegele et al. 2015) und soll im Fall von Building Information Modeling (BIM) Potenziale zur Optimierung der Planung, Fertigung und Wartung von Gebäuden bieten (z. B. Fischer et al. 2017). Im Fallbeispiel wird ein digitales Tool entwickelt, mit dem auch kleine und mittlere Unternehmen, die momentan über keine Kompetenzen und Ressourcen zur computerbasierten Modellierung von Gebäuden im mehrdimensionalen Raum verfügen, diesem Digitalisierungstrend folgen können. Zur erfolgreichen Integration eines digitalen Tools in die kooperativen Arbeitsprozesse bedarf es einer proaktiven, gemeinsamen und menschenzentrierten Betrachtung der Technologie und der Arbeitsgestaltung im Sinne des soziotechnischen Ansatzes (z. B. Parker und Grote 2020). Im Fokus des Beitrags steht die mögliche Veränderung der Arbeitsprozesse und der Arbeitsgestaltung der unternehmens- und gewerkübergreifenden Kooperation eines mittelgroßen Holzbauunternehmens in der Planungsphase des Gebäudebaus durch die Technologieeinführung. Der Ist- und Soll-Zustand sowie die möglichen Konsequenzen der Einführung des digitalen Tools werden diskutiert. Das digitale Tool verspricht eine Intensivierung der gemeinsamen Arbeit in der Planungsphase, durch die Probleme in der Ausführungsphase reduziert werden können. Neben erwünschten Veränderungen, wie den verbesserten Möglichkeiten zum Informationsaustausch und zur Abstimmung, sind vielfältige weitere Konsequenzen möglich, die durch eine frühzeitige Aufdeckung in der Entwicklungsphase eines digitalen Tools proaktiv gestaltbar werden.

Collaborative Facilitation and Collaborative Inhibition in Virtual Environments

Worldwide, organizations and small and medium-sized enterprises have already disruptively changed in many ways their physiological inner mechanisms, because of information and communication technologies (ICT) revolution. Nevertheless, the still ongoing COVID-19 worldwide emergency definitely promoted a wide adoption of teleworking modalities for many people around the world, making it more relevant than before to understand the real impact of virtual environments (VEs) on teamwork dynamics. From a psychological point of view, a critical question about teleworking modalities is how the social and cognitive dynamics of collaborative facilitation and collaborative inhibition would affect teamwork within VEs. This study analyzed the impact of a virtual environment (VE) on the recall of individuals and members of nominal and collaborative groups. The research assessed costs and benefits for collaborative retrieval by testing the effect of experimental conditions, stimulus materials, group size, experimental conditions order, anxiety state, personality traits, gender group composition and social interactions. A total of 144 participants were engaged in a virtual Deese-Roediger-McDermott (DRM) classical paradigm, which involved remembering word lists across two successive sessions, in one of four protocols: I-individual/nominal, I I -nominal/individual, I I I -nominal/collaborative, I V -collaborative/nominal. Results suggested, in general, a reduced collaborative inhibition effect in the collaborative condition than the nominal and individual condition. A combined effect between experimental condition and difficulty of the task appears to explain the presence of collaborative inhibition or facilitation. Nominal groups appeared to enhance the collaborative groups’ performance when virtual nominal groups come before collaborative groups. Variables such as personality traits, gender and social interactions may have a contribution to collaborative retrieval. In conclusion, this study indicated how VEs could maintain those peculiar social dynamics characterizing the participants’ engagement in a task, both working together and individually, and could affect their intrinsic motivation as well as performances. These results could be exploited in order to design brand new and evidenced-based practices, to improve teleworking procedures and workers well-being, as well as teleworking teamwork effectiveness.