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