**4.2 Functional comfort and fit in the virtual workplace of a mobile employee**

The leading themes of data included the connectivity and effective use of time (fig. 3). The most important thing when considering the nice and smooth i.e. functional use of virtual devices and applications seemed to be the availability, speed and functionality of the internet connection. Most of the notes in the diaries were somehow related to the use of an internet connection. Altogether, the internet connection, which was non-functional or difficult to access, was regarded as the key hindrance of productive knowledge work in virtual workplaces. There was a requirement that a quick and easily accessible internet connection should be available everywhere. This also presents requirements for the infrastructure of both virtual and physical places: they should guide you in getting quickly connected.

Because the workdays of the employees seemed to be busy with many things to do, the baseline assumption was that the use of virtual devices and applications is quick and smooth. If not, the irritation on account of wasted time increased, e.g., when sending emails took a few seconds instead of being instant. The interviewed subjects described the wasted time as a time that was spent with virtual tools but which did not directly contribute to completing the work related tasks and duties they were working with. An example of an experience of wasted time is a laptop that took 10 minutes to turn on. Another example is a

The Virtual Reality of Work –

**5. Conclusions** 

learned to conduct in virtual entity.

How to Create a Workplace that Enhances Well-Being for a Mobile Employee 201

communicate face to face with colleagues and send e-mails. Simultaneous use of many virtual communication and collaboration channels blur also the boundaries of work related and leisure related virtual places. While working in virtual places, many employees amused themselves by occasional visits in leisure related places, e.g., in their own Face book pages.

Fig. 4. The elements impacting the psychosocial fit or misfit of virtual workplaces

methods may also be used in a way that reflects a sign of distrust.

mobile employee will stop completely if the worker is not able to connect.

Taking over the fit of psychosocial elements in the virtual workplace the success in **control** is essential. The interviewed subjects defined the control to flow from the success in handling the demands of continuous availability, clear communication and collaboration rules inside the team as well as a good command over the different virtual working modes. They also pointed out the negative features of control. For example, the virtual tracing

This research showed that Vischer's model (2005, 2007) of environmental fit is useful for a more detailed classification of virtual places and spaces. In virtual work the threshold of usability is at the functional level due to accessibility demands (see fig. 1). The work of a

In order to develop well-functioning virtual workplaces for mobile employees, extensive attention should be paid to the whole system, within which employees confront their duties in different locations. Gaining comprehensive understanding on the context in which a given task is performed starts by forming questions first on the physical places and later on psychosocial themes. As such a vast field, the process demands profound multidisciplinary collaboration of different actors in organizations and support functions. The inspection of different fit levels is a useful tool for helping different authorities to explain their expertise in relation to other authorities. Gaps in management may also be demonstrated. There is a need for putting more emphasis in analyzing the non-visible work processes we have

According to this research with Vischer ´s model as a frame of reference, it can be stated that

situation where the user spent hours learning to use free program to find out if it is suitable for his purposes – it was not and the time was wasted.

Fig. 3. The elements impacting the functional fit or misfit of virtual workplaces
