Employee satisfaction in virtual teams

Background The world is experiencing exceptional technological evolution and Sweden is at the forefront of this development and virtual teams are on the rise. Virtual teams are a way for companies to improve their sustainability with decreased travel for employees which also saves time that employees can spend at home though with difficulties separating work and home. Virtual teams are a chance for employees to better influence their work, a way to have people from all over the world working together but with a risk of decreased physical social interactions and being isolated. Research question How is employee satisfaction perceived by individuals in virtual teams? Purpose The purpose of this thesis is to describe how employees in virtual teams perceive employee satisfaction in contrast to traditional teams in order to identify which aspects are especially significant for employee satisfaction in virtual teams. Further we aim to explain how to create employee satisfaction with these aspects in mind. Method A qualitative research method was used in this study, by semistructured interviews with twelve respondents from various companies in Sweden, in which four of the twelve respondents work in the public sector and the rest in the private sector. The respondents were selected by convenience. TheoreticalFramework Theories about teams, virtual teams, job satisfaction and culture are presented followed by behavioural theory focusing on selfdetermination theory as well as social capital. The final component in the theoretical framework is theory regarding. work-life balance and spillover theory. Findings In this thesis, the findings of how employee satisfaction is perceived in virtual teams is divided into two parts. The first part addresses the need to prepare a structure for the virtual team before hiring as to avoid issues raised by the respondents and brings to attention key areas. The second part addresses the need to find the right people when hiring for the virtual team. It mentions important characteristics beneficial for the person to have if they are to work within the virtual team