**1. Introduction**

192 Virtual Reality and Environments

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New developments in information and communication technology have changed the way people approach their life and work. Mobile virtual work is no longer bound to fixed locations as utilizing information and communication technology allows people to function freely in various environments. The employee is considered as mobile, when he works more than ten hours per week outside of the primary workplace and uses information and communication technologies for collaboration (Gareis et al., 2006; Vartiainen & Hyrkkänen 2010). Virtual reality (Fox et al., 2009), as an environment related to the new 'anytime anywhere work', can be called *the virtual workplace*. The virtual workplace provides connectivity through different size of devices and is accessed by different interfaces when supporting the performance of both individual and collaborative activities (Nenonen et al., 2009).

The interest of this article is the interrelationship between the physical and the virtual workplace not only with regard to their infrastructure, but also to their social and cultural contexts. Both prerequisites connected to the virtual workplace and its actual use can be challenging. It could be claimed, for instance, that simultaneous physical and virtual copresence is generally not yet mastered in an effective way and that there still exist certain bottlenecks for a mobile employee in entering virtual reality.

Vischer (2007, 2008) has analyzed the workplace as a physical, functional and psychological entity in order to identify features related to comfort and fit between a workplace and an employee (fig 1). When the environment sets inappropriate or excessive demands to users, in spite of their adaptation and adjustment behaviors, it manifests the concept of misfit. In a good fit there is a balance between a person's abilities, skills, degree of control and decision latitude and the work environment's demands, complexity, expectations and challenges. The nature of person-environment transactions arouses the sensation of either comfort or stress. Comfort may be considered as the fit of the user to the environment in the context of work. (Vischer 2005, 2007, see also Dainoff et al. 2007.)

According to Vischer (2007), environmental comfort encompasses three hierarchical categories: the physical, functional, and psychological. Physical comfort relates to basic human needs, i.e. safety, hygiene and accessibility. These needs are responded to by

The Virtual Reality of Work –

**2. Background** 

perspectives.

**employee** 

Mark & Su, 2010).

devices (Perry & Brodie, 2006).

Hyrkkänen, 2010; Venezia & Allee, 2007.)

How to Create a Workplace that Enhances Well-Being for a Mobile Employee 195

The basic proposition in the background of this research follows the idea of Vischer's modified and tested model (Hyrkkänen & Nenonen 2011). The factors of fit and misfit are in the upcoming chapters examined from the physical, functional and psychosocial

The elements of physical spaces and places impact on the possibilities for effective virtual work. Constraints of physical places hamper the mobile worker's way to virtual work places. It could be claimed that the access to the virtual reality is restricted in many ways by poor and out of date working environments, their lay outs, electrical designs and furniture. The reviewed articles demonstrated and confirmed this by describing many situations

Despite the increase of "hot desking", many odd places are still offered for building up a work station, especially if the mobile employee is an occasional visitor (Hislop & Axtell, 2009; Mark & Su, 2010) at his own company's or customer's premises. At public places, mobile employees have even reported the need to compete for electrical power due to a limited amount of power outlets (Axtell et al., 2008; Brown & O'Hara, 2003; Forlano b, 2008;

When executing the anywhere working style, the employee will undoubtedly encounter many physical places that are not in the first hand designed primarily for working purposes. This is likely to happen at airports, in different means of transportation, in cafeterias or in hotel rooms (Axtell et al., 2008; Breure & van Meel, 2003; Brown & O'Hara, 2003; Laurier, 2004; Laurier & Philo, 2003). Their furniture is primarily designed for travelling or for leisure time activities. They are hardly convertible for working. For example, in trains there are no flat surfaces large enough for laying down portable mobile

In the physical fit of virtual reality lies also the question of its appropriateness to the human sensory system. For example visual and auditory problems may arise. For ensuring the success of work, mobile employees carry many tools with them – including redundant tools to be on the safe side. To avoid letting the burden grow beyond measure, increasingly smaller-sized devices are selected. With small size you inevitably choose small displays – and visual difficulties. (Axtell et al., 2008; Brown & O'Hara, 2003; Felstead et al., 2005; Hislop & Axtell, 2009; Mark & Su, 2010; Perry et al., 2001; Perry & Brodie, 2006; Vartiainen &

Noisy physical environments may disturb and interrupt concentrated working in virtual reality. Especially in public places, in trains and airplanes, tourists and neighbors near the mobile worker may disturb the work (Axtell et al., 2008; Breure & van Meel, 2003). On the other hand, a smooth level of discussing voices e.g. in a cafeteria may help the worker to

The contradictory relation between the physical and virtual worlds might cause the misfit which may also lead to safety risks, e.g. when driving a car (Laurier & Philo, 2003; Perry &

relax and lose him/herself in virtual reality (Forlano, 2008a; Rasila et al. 2011).

**2.1 The elements of physical comfort and fit in the virtual workplace of a mobile** 

where the mobile employees met physical hindrances.

applying building codes and standards. Functional comfort is defined in terms of support for users' performance in work-related tasks and activities. Psychological comfort is related to feelings of belonging, ownership and control over workspace. We have expanded the category of psychological comfort and fit also to cover the social factors, and named the third category psychosocial comfort and fit.

Fig. 1. Vischer's (2005) model of comfort and fit modified (Hyrkkänen & Nenonen, 2011) for assessing virtual work places

Vischer's user-centered model (2007) merges environmental aspects with psychological aspects in a dynamic way. Vischer has developed this abovementioned model for assessing the fit or misfit of physical workspace. We have tested and developed its applicability for assessing virtual places (see Hyrkkänen & Nenonen 2011). In this article, the virtual workplace will be analyzed as a three-level entity that enhances well-being from the point of view of the mobile employee.

*The purpose of this chapter* is to explore what are the elements of the virtual workplace that either hinder or enable productive mobile virtual work processes and well-being at work. The script will proceed as follows: first, there will be a broad literature inspection of the physical, functional and psychosocial elements of comfort and fit which either hinder or enable productive mobile virtual work. Secondly the method and findings of a preliminary study called "virtual me" will be presented for enlivening the literature review findings with vivid up to date data.
