Managing Effectively in Virtual Work Contexts

This chapter offers an empirical examination of supervisory behaviors perceived to be effective in a virtual office setting. The study presented in this chapter is driven by a general research question: What behaviors are perceived to be effective when managing individuals virtually? To address this research question, the authors collected data in a Midwestern government organization that recently transitioned its employees to virtual offices. They conducted interviews with, and distributed surveys to, managers and employees during and after the organization's transition to a virtual office. Based on the analysis, the authors present eight virtual supervision competencies and measures of these competencies adapted for, or developed in, this project. The competencies are trust, organizational identification, technology, buy-in, communication, evaluation, knowledge management, and hiring.