Enabling and constraining factors of remote informal communication: a socio-technical systems perspective

• Published in: Journal of computer-mediated communication Vol. 29; no. 5
• Main Authors: Begemann, Vanessa, Handke, Lisa, Lehmann-Willenbrock, Nale
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hoboken Oxford University Press 01-09-2024
• Subjects: Constraining; Organizations; informal communication; remote work; sociomateriality; qualitative analysis; socio-technical system
• ISSN: 1083-6101; 1083-6101
• DOI: 10.1093/jcmc/zmae008

Abstract
Informal interactions are vital in daily workplace communication, shaping performance, well-being, collaboration, and overall organizational functioning. However, as the ongoing trends of remote and hybrid work present significant changes and challenges to these interactions, supporting remote informal communication (RIC) becomes urgent. To address this pressing issue, we adopt a socio-technical systems perspective to gain in-depth insights into the enabling and constraining factors related to RIC. Our findings of semi-structured interviews with working adults (N=33) reveal important changes and challenges related to informal communication in the remote work context. We identify eleven interrelated socio-contextual, intrapersonal, and technological factors, culminating in a comprehensive conceptual framework of RIC. Based on our findings, we provide practical recommendations to effectively facilitate RIC in organizations and discuss future research avenues for understanding effective RIC in organizations.
Lay Summary
Most interactions at work are spontaneous and unstructured. These informal interactions are important for the performance and well-being of employees, for effective collaborations in teams, and for overall organizational functioning. However, when working remotely, informal interactions change and they can become more difficult to initiate. With remote and hybrid work arrangements becoming more popular, it is important to understand how to support remote informal communication (RIC). We analyzed interviews of 33 working adults to understand RIC and its enabling and constraining factors better. Our results reveal insights about the changes and challenges in supporting informal interactions in the context of remote work. We identify 11 interconnected socio-contextual, intrapersonal, and technological factors, resulting in a comprehensive conceptual framework of RIC. We provide recommendations to effectively promote RIC and suggest areas for future research to enhance our understanding of RIC in organizations.