The power of virtual distance : a guide to productivity and happiness in the age of remote work

"Today, almost all organizations are struggling with the impact that virtualization is having on the workplace. Yet, a full comprehension of what the costs of virtualization are, is lacking. This book introduces the concept of virtual distance to show businesses what they have felt has been occurring all along, that there are definite costs to doing work in a virtual environment. It then goes a step further and offers proven methods for measuring these costs and guidance on managing them. This book will be updated with data collected from companies that employ millions of people since its introduction. It will show that virtual distance working has remained stable and has gotten stronger over the 10 years since the first edition published. New case studies will be added throughout the book. As our society continues its transition from the Industrial Age to the Digital Age, new challenges are being introduced into the workplace. Organizational models are shifting toward large, global networks of employees connected to each other through technology, giving rise to a new phenomenon, Virtual Distance. Virtual distance is comprised of three major axes: physical distance (geographic, time zone, or organizational), operational distance (team size, technical skill level), and affinity distance (cultural differences, interdependence distance, working relationships, and social distance). Virtual distance creates real challenges to innovation, leadership, and overall performance and companies that know how to manage the impact of virtual distance have a big competitive advantage"--