The impact of remote work on collaboration and knowledge sharing among workers

Abstract

The adoption of remote work increased since the COVID-19 pandemic, with many organisations not prepared for the shift. The growing interest for organisations to sustain remote work policies called for an understanding of the impact on collaboration and knowledge sharing. The study aimed to understand the influence remote work has on collaboration and knowledge sharing by investigating the relational-social factors that provides a social presence for collaborators online. A qualitative study based on 14 semi-structured interviews was conducted with majority of individuals from the financial services industry in Johannesburg, South Africa. The findings of the study revealed that the shift to remote work brought benefits as well as challenges for collaborators, people that formed relationships and had a history of working together before remote work, collaborated better than those without. Individual with no history of working with member in the team (new joiners) struggled to build relationships, thus feeling isolated. The research contributes to the body of knowledge by developing a conceptual model that aim to aid other researcher interested in relational-social factor to improve virtual collaboration. The research provides a contribution towards improving social presence to achieve successful collaboration and knowledge sharing.