EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT IN GLOBAL WORK - pare.ee · EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT IN GLOBAL WORK Niina Nurmi,...
Transcript of EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT IN GLOBAL WORK - pare.ee · EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT IN GLOBAL WORK Niina Nurmi,...
EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT
IN GLOBAL WORK
Niina Nurmi, Ph.D.
Aalto UniversityDepartment of Industrial Engineering
and Management
global workers
collaborate across
geographical distances
1.3
billion
GLOBAL WORKis the new normal!
(Johns & Gratton, 2013)
Boundaries of
Global Collaboration
- Geographical distance
- Time zones
- Cultures
- Languages
BENEFITS:
�Global virtual work enables engaging experts in teamwork from different country locations.
� Alternative for
international expatriate
assignments
� Cost savings
CHALLENGES:
�Motivating workers
�Ensuring their well-being
�Global working time regulation
�Building interpersonal relationships
Coordinating teamwork across time zones is one of the crucial challenges in global work
(Espinosa & Carmel, 2003; Espinosa, Nan & Carmel, 2007)
UK
India
China
Typical ’extreme-example’
of coordination challenges
Local business hours
UK
China
China
WHAT CAN ORGANIZATIONS DO?
- How to engage global workersin teamwork across time zones?
LOCAL HR POLICIES• Worktime flexibility
• Telecommuting
• Travel
• Job/role design
GLOBAL TEAMWORK POLICIES• Meeting time coordination
• 24/7 responsiveness
• Awareness technologies
• Site visits and face-to-face meetings
Possible solutions
(Nurmi, 2011; Nurmi & Mäkelä, working paper)
Site-specific
policies
may vary
significantly
Local
responsibilities
Global team
responsibilities
Local HR practices Global team practices
Local & global
responsibilities
Working time,
Telecommuting,Travel policies, etc.
Teamwork coordination,
Virtual meetings,Site visits, etc.
ISSUES ARISE !(Nurmi & Mäkelä, working paper)
Japan
U.S.A.
Sweden
NAVIGATING DIFFERENCES IN LOCAL POLICIES
A GLOBAL TEAM
Working time Flex workHolidays
TechnologyInfrastructureOffice design
Hierarchyetc.
A team-level issue:
GLOBAL responsibilities LOCAL responsibilities
BEFORE business hours: collaboration
with eastern coworkers (5am – 9am) DURING business hours : collaboration
with office colleagues (9am – 5pm)
AFTER business hours : collaboration
with western coworkers (9pm ~ 12am)
Task prioritizing is oftenbased on ’who shouts louder’
An individual-level issue:
Management issue:
GLOBAL WORK => LONGER HOURS
41,46
44,77
39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46
0-10% työajasta
Yli 10% työajasta
Weekly working hours
GLOBAL WORK
RESPONSIBILITIES
Weekly working hours
Weekly
working hours
Finnish experts survey (N = 1677)
0-10% ofworking time
Over 10% ofworking time
one extra workday /
week
WHAT MAKES GLOBAL WORK SO ENGAGING AND EXCITING FOR KNOWLEDGE WORKERS ?
Qualitative
interviews
100 semi-structured
interviews in
two MNCS
Global Work Design Theory
& Hypotheses
SURVEY 1 OF GLOBAL WORK: N = 515 Finnish global knowledge workers
(Akava members)
SURVEY 1 OF GLOBAL WORK: N = 515 Finnish global knowledge workers
(Akava members)
SURVEY 2 + LinkedIn DATA: N= 463 global workers of the multinational
engineering company (108 women and 355
men) from 33 countries.
SURVEY 2 + LinkedIn DATA: N= 463 global workers of the multinational
engineering company (108 women and 355
men) from 33 countries.
GLOBAL WORKER ENGAGEMENT STUDY
QUALITATIVE FINDINGS
Global work is often experienced as positively challenging & learning-promoting.
OFF-JOB
RECOVERY may be needed to
facilitate workers’
positive appraisal
of the work.
H1: Global work increases job complexityRESULTS OF
SURVEY 1 H2: Global work increases learning opportunities
H3: Job complexity and learning opportunities increase positive work outcomes
H4: Off-job recovery boosts positive appraisals of global work
Global
virtual work
Perceived
complexity
Learning
opportunities
Innovative
performance
Job
satisfaction
Work
engagement
Off-job
recovery
Site visits and 24/7 connectivity promote
relationship building in global teams,
BUT may also create work-life conflict.
MORE QUALITATIVE FINDINGS
RESULTS OF SURVEY 2
High-quality
site visits
quality High-quality
work
relationshipsTurnover
24/7
connectivity
Work-life
balance
Job
satisfaction
+ _
-
+
+
+
++
menwomen
+-
MANAGERIAL
IMPLICATIONS
Well-designed global work engages knowledge workers
Enrich with:
– Challenging and meaningful tasks
– Learning opportunities
– High-quality site visits to support interpersonal relationship building
Note, high engagement can be a double-edged sward
Avoid:
– Long working hours and
inadequate off-job recovery
– 24/7 connectivity -> may create work-life conflict, especially for men
Questions, comments ?
Photo by: Carol KiriakosGreetings from Helsinki