The Nature and Influence of Relationship on Success in a Virtual Work Environment

The evolution of technology in the 21st century has led to a greater understanding of the benefits and the challenges of expanding work relationships across geographical boundaries. This expansion has contributed to the development of a global society with over three million employee teleworkers (Global Workplace Analytics and the Telework Research Network, 2013). In spite of the advances in connecting across the globe technologically, the importance of successfully working together in a virtual work environment is grounded in relationships that foster individual growth and group cohesion. The human elements of connectivity are primary to the success of organizations as well as fulfillment of the individual. This study explores the importance of relationship within the world of virtual work and investigates the various aspects of virtual work environments to understand overall virtuality. The Relational Health Indices (RHI) were used as a foundation to build the means for measuring relationship quality among teammates. These were then explored as a means to provide insight into the importance of relationship within the world of virtual work. The primary research question for this study was: What is the nature and influence of relationship on success in a virtual work environment? Success is defined here as perceived team goal achievement, job satisfaction, and relationship satisfaction. The research design consists of a mixed-methods, descriptive, and correlational study looking at the nature and influence of relationship on success in a virtual work environment based on a hierarchical multiple regression analysis of data collected from an online survey. A content analysis of participant responses to open-ended survey questions was employed. Major findings include: the development of a tool to measure relationship quality teammates; the factors that influence perceived success; demographic differences in relationship quality; difference in importance of relationship versus the existence of relationship in virtual work environments; and the wide variation in the work environments of virtual workers. The electronic version of this dissertation is at OhioLink ETD Center, http://www.ohiolink.edu/et