Understanding well-being in virtual teams: a comparative case study

Although virtual teams (VTs) have been around for over two decades, there are no studies explicitly examining their members’ well-being. Motivated, therefore, by a knowledge gap in the VT literature, and a practical need to understand well-being in this context due to the Covid-19 pandemic which has led to an unprecedented transition into virtual working, in this paper, we draw on 14 interviews and present initial findings of a comparative case between two European organizations involving different types (global vs. local) of VTs (Phase 1). Using the job demands-resources (JDR) model as our theoretical lens, we make the following contributions: We identify the situated character of job demands and resources among our participants, explaining how VT members experience simultaneously increased job demands and reduced job resources, which, in combination, may substantially impair their well-being. We also find that understandings of demands and resources are idiosyncratic and vary depending on prior individual experiences of VT members. We discuss initial theoretical and practical contributions of Phase 1 of our study and outline our next steps (Phases 2 and 3).