Masters Theses

Date of Award

8-2022

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science

Major

Communication and Information

Major Professor

John W. Haas

Committee Members

Jenny L. Crowley, Emily A. Paskewitz

Abstract

While remote work is not an entirely new concept, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic triggered a massive increase in remote work for over a year for some individuals and organizations. Looking to the future, some companies have already developed remote work policies and stated their intentions to allow employees to work from home on a more consistent basis. There are various advantages and disadvantages to remote work for employees and their employers, as outlined in the previous literature. However, due to the short amount of time that remote work has been implemented for these organizations, there may be long-term implications that have not yet been studied. This study aimed to examine the effects of remote work on organizational culture, namely the effect of external social support as it may be sought out to mitigate social isolation within the organization. Participants (N = 199) were recruited through Amazon’s Mechanical Turk (MTurk) online portal and completed a 50-item survey with measures including remote work practices, perceived organizational culture, informal communication, social connectedness, and external social support. Results were analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) to identify any possible relationships between variables and determine potential correlations. Based on the results, the study did not support the hypothesis or research question, however this provides useful insight that remote work may be a viable option for future organizations.

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