Virtual Distance/Virtual Workforce

VIRTUAL DISTANCE

Virtual Distance is the perceived distance brought on by too much interaction with technology such as email, instant messaging, and other e-based communications.  Karen Sobel Lojeski has developed a measure that includes three elements that add up to Virtual Distance.     1) Physical Distance.  This is defined as the real or fixed distance-related factors and they are:  

a) Geographic Distance - geographic separation,

b) Temporal Distance - time-zone and/or schedule differences, and

c) Organizational Distance - the extent to which the organizational affiliation is different, e.g. I work for company a and you work for company b therefore we are organizationally distant.     2) Operational Distance - the things that get in the way of effective collaboration on a day-to-day basis.  They include a) Communication Distance - the extent to which one uses a mix of modes like face-to-face communication versus other kinds of communications as well as the extent to which one can garner meaning from a conversation based on the right level of context, both physical as well as mental context. b) Multitasking - the extent to which we are busy with other projects or deliverables in the same timeframes, c) Readiness Distance - the extent to which technical environments go down - like QWAQ not being available or video-conferencing, internet connections etc. and d) Distribution Asymmetry - the extent to which people are unequally distributed which leads to dysfunction in the form of isolation or "cocooning" in a Headquarter location.    3) Affinity Distance - the extent to which we lack relationships with others that are deep in nature - for example - one has an "affinity" for someone else.  Affinity trumps all other issues.  Therefore, if there is low Affinity Distance, the other two factors might still be in play but their effects will be far less destructive.  Affinity Distance is comprised of a) Cultural Distance - the extent to which people's values and/or communication styles are not aligned, b) Social Distance - the extent to which people feel there are gaps in the relationship caused by differences in formal or informal social status, c) Relationship Distance - the extent to which people don't know one another from prior work or don't know any of the same people and d) Interdependence Distance - the extent to which people do not feel as though their futures are connected or their success is dependent on others.   Virtual Distance has a direct effect on Trust, Goal and Role Clarity, Organizational Citizenship Behavior as well as Success (measured by on-time, on-budget delivery and customer satisfaction) and Innovation (measured by innovative behavior).  Trust, Clarity, and Organizational Citizenship Behavior also have direct effects on Success and Innovation.  Virtual Distance can be measured quantitatively using the Virtual Distance Index or can also be qualitatively estimated.  Virtual Distance can also be predicted based on "what-if" scenarios.  The statistical relationships are such that as more data is collected, relationships get stronger.  Virtual Distance has caused millions of dollars in damages to organizations.  It has also led to loss of innovation opportunities and has created reputation problems for some of the major financial institutions with regard to fraud and other credit card loss issues.