AOM Scholars On… The Remote Disconnect: Challenges and Opportunities within the Future of Work

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The Academy of Management’s third virtual AOM Scholar-led panel.

The panel delivered research-based insights informing: 

• The hidden and not so hidden consequences of work from home and coming back into the office 
• What managers can do to give employees more control over the remote work process without overstepping boundaries 
  
• The approaches that managers and companies should take when it comes to leading and managing remote workers 
• Steps organizations can take to manage inequity in the workplace that are associated with the future of work  
• How colleagues are missing integral professional relationships as a result of remote work, and how these missed relationship building opportunities disproportionately impact minority workforces 
• Advice for managers and organizations to help employees acclimate employees as they come back to work 
• How remote work contributes to transactional interactions between employees and their organization 

Panel Soundbites

The following quotes were edited for clarity and conciseness 

“We’ve learned that connection is so critical and [the need for] organizations to find ways to connect employees is going to be critical moving forward in the post-pandemic world."
—Brianna Caza 

“Virtual teams don’t work as well as a face-to-face team… The problem with remote work is that it inhibits interaction like meaningful, friendly banter, and it reduces a sense of ‘teamliness.'"
—Kyle Emich 

“The switch has been flipped… Organizations need to learn more about how to build communities that are virtual and global, and what skills are needed to manage this community."
—Elizabeth J. Altman  

“The expectation of availability has risen with remote work, and if managers don’t lower their expectations of employee availability, workers [may] quickly become emotionally exhausted.” 
—Ariane Ollier-Malaterre 

“The clear hidden cost is the cohesion and bonding that takes place with face-to-face interaction. Because virtual interaction is simply less satisfying, often the way teams and organizations solve this problem is to build bonding moments virtually. And … this solution doesn’t seem to solve the problem well.
—Loran Nordgren 

Learn more about AOM’s Subject Matter Experts.

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Panel Moderator 

Brianna Caza, University North Carolina, Greensboro

• Brianna Barker Caza is an associate professor of management at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
• Brianna’s research seeks to understand when and how people do well in seemingly difficult work situations involving unexpected events, ethical dilemmas, daily tensions, and challenging interpersonal situations. She has a particular interest in identity and interpersonal dynamics relating to the gig economy, multiple jobholding, and high stakes professional work.  
• Her research has been published in top tier organizational outlets such as Administrative Science Quarterly, Academy of Management Annals, Academy of Management Review, Journal of Organizational Behavior, Journal of Business Ethics, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, and Business Ethics Quarterly. 
• Brianna is also a regular contributor to Harvard Business Review, writing about issues relating to the gig economy, authenticity, identity, and resilience.
• Brianna’s notable published AOM research include:
  • Academy of Management Annals: Gradual Drifts, Abrupt Shocks: From Relationship Fractures to Relational Resilience
  • Academy of Management Proceedings: Stronger than me: Recrafting relationship narratives after relational turbulence
  • Academy of Management Proceedings: It's Cold Outside: Measuring the Challenges of Independent (Gig) Work

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Panelists

• Elizabeth Altman is an assistant professor of management at the Manning School of Business, University of Massachusetts Lowell, and guest editor of the MIT Sloan Management Review Future of the Workforce project.
• Elizabeth’s research focuses on strategy, innovation, platform businesses and ecosystems, leadership in the digital economy, organizational identity, and organizational change. 
• She spent 19 years in industry. She was a vice president at Motorola in executive and leadership roles in industrial design, product development engineering, manufacturing, marketing, and strategy. Awarded a U.S. Dept. of Commerce and Japanese government fellowship, Elizabeth worked as an engineer for Sony in Japan. 
• Elizabeth's work has been published in the Harvard Business Review (HBR), MIT Sloan Management Review, Journal of Management Studies, Marketing Letters, and other internationally recognized management journals and books.
• Altman’s notable published AOM research include:
  • Academy of Management Annals: The Translucent Hand of Managed Ecosystems: Engaging Communities for Value Creation and Capture
  • Academy of Management Proceedings: Where do Ecosystems Come From? The Origins of Ecosystem Structure and Performance
  • Academy of Management Proceedings: Ecosystems: New Structures and Organizational Considerations

Kyle Emich, University of Delaware

• Kyle Emich is an assistant professor of management at the Alfred Lerner College of Business, University of Delaware.
• Kyle's research focuses on understanding how patterns of perceptions and emotions in teams influences their functioning.
• His research has been published in outlets such as Psychological Science, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, and Journal of Organizational Behavior. Additionally, his work has been cited in media outlets such as Harvard Business Review, The Wall Street Journal, The Boston Globe, Scientific American Mind, Psychology Today, and The Atlantic.
• Emich’s notable published AOM research include:
  • Academy of Management Perspectives: Reanchoring the Ontology of International Business
  • Academy of Management Proceedings: Authentically Creative? Identifying and Reconciling the Tension between Authenticity and Creativity
  • Academy of Management Proceedings: Paradox and Well-being: A Multilevel Perspective on Cognitive and Emotional Responses to Paradoxes
    

Loran Nordgren, Northwestern University

• Loran Nordgren is a professor of management and organization at the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, and national bestselling author of the book The Human Element: overcoming the resistance that awaits new ideas.
• His research has been published in leading journals such as Science, and his ideas are regularly discussed in prominent forums such as the Harvard Business Review.
• In recognition of his work, Loran has received the Theoretical Innovation Award in experimental psychology. A former Fulbright scholar, Loran has twice received Kellogg’s Management Teacher of the Year award.
• Loran’s published AOM research include:
  • Academy of Management Proceedings: The Powerful (but Constrained) Strength of Behavioral Interventions
  • Academy of Management Proceedings: Who Wants Performance Incentives? Resource Deprivation Increases Aversion to Performance Incentives

Ariane Ollier-Malaterre, Université du Québec à Montréal

• Ariane, is a management professor at the University of Quebec in Montreal, Canada.
• Ariane’s research explores how individuals articulate work and life identities and commitments in the context of technology (e.g., work-life boundaries on social media, work from home, constant connectivity, privacy, and surveillance).
• She leads the Technology, Work, and Family research group of the Work and Family Researchers Network and received the Kanter Award for Excellence in Work-Family Research. 
• Her work is regularly featured in the international press and she was auditioned by the European Commission and the French government.
• Ariane’s notable published AOM research include:
  • Academy of Management Review: Not All Work-Life Policies Are Created Equal: Career Consequences of Using Enabling Versus Enclosing Work-Life Policies
  • Academy of Management Review: When Worlds Collide in Cyberspace: How Boundary Work in Online Social Networks Impacts Professional Relationships