Job Characteristics as a Potential Source of Work Engagement in Global Virtual Teams

Abstract

Global virtual teams (GVTs), commonly described as culturally diverse, geographically dispersed, and electronically dependent in their communication are having an increasingly dominant role in organizations. Despite being associated with many challenges, a small amount of literature suggests that working in GVTs may potentially offer positive experiences and benefits to team members. The purpose of this study is to identify the job characteristics, i.e. resources and demands in the form of positive challenges found in the work of GVTs that have a potential to increase the team members’ work engagement.

The theoretical framework is based on literature on GVTs, work engagement, and the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model, which explains work engagement with the characteristics of the job. The empirical research was conducted through qualitative, semi-structured interviews in September and October 2018. The selected case, a GVT in a global organization, consisted of 7 members with manager positions, representing a culturally diverse, geographically dispersed, and electronically dependent sample.

Based on the assumptions of the JD-R model, this study set out to explore what job characteristics found in the work of GVTs are a potential source of work engagement. The findings revealed that despite, or possibly even because of, the challenging nature of the work, an increased work engagement can be achieved when working virtually. Consistent with the theory, the resources of learning opportunities and improved decision-making, in addition to the challenge demands of autonomy and time pressure existing in the work of GVTs, were found to be a potential source of increased work engagement. The findings provide valuable knowledge on how work engagement can be improved in the context of GVTs, benefiting not only team members but also the organizations of such teams. The practical implications for organizations would be to increase the accessibility to the job characteristics assessed by team members as positive and having the potential to lead to increased work engagement.