LAUSR

BACKGROUND Virtual office work, or telework/remote work, has existed since the 1970s due to the widespread availability of new technologies. Despite a dramatic increase in the demand for remote office work, few studies have examined its long-term effects on work environments and worker well-being. OBJECTIVE A prospective field intervention study was undertaken to examine the effects of a Virtual Office program on office workers' psychosocial perceptions, mental and physical well-being, workplace satisfaction, and performance. METHOD A large public service organization undertook a 12-month Virtual Office (VO) pilot program using a systems approach The study included 137 VO employees (intervention condition), and 85 Conventional Office (CO) employees (control condition). The VO intervention used a systems approach consisting of establishing a steering committee, training programs, and VO resource website. The survey measures and follow-up focus group observations were used to examine the impact of the VO intervention. RESULTS Virtual office participants reported higher job control, group interactions and cohesiveness, and quality of supervision than the CO participants. VO participants reported lower upper body musculoskeletal symptoms and physical/mental stress than CO participants. VO participants reported higher performance (customer satisfaction) than the CO participants. CONCLUSION The study findings were sufficiently positive to provide a basis for work organizations to undertake similar pilot programs. Consideration of system factors when designing an effective VO program can benefit employee's well-being and performance. The rationale for implementing VO programs is underscored by the current COVID-19 pandemic. VO work will continue to some degree for the foreseeable future.