Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Brodie, 2006). Switching concentration from driving to working with ICT-tools causes hazards
and is therefore for safety reasons limited by law and norms. (Hislop &Axtell, 2009).
2.2 The elements of functional comfort and fit in the virtual workplace of a mobile
employee
The functional fit or misfit of the workplace can be assessed by defining the degree to which
occupants can either conserve their attention and energy for their tasks or expend it to cope
with poor environmental conditions. Related to the functional fit of virtual places, the
connectivity problems that cause disturbances and hindrances to virtual work flow are
crucial. The maturity and sophistication of the ICT infrastructure is one of the key factors.
For example, the Wi-Fi connections are not yet fully developed in all environments (Axtell,
et al., 2008).
Some of the connectivity problems are derived from the limited skills of mobile workers in
employing virtual settings and infrastructure (Hallford, 2005; Mann & Holdsworth, 2003;
Mark & Su, 2010; Perry & Brodie, 2006; Vartiainen & Hyrkkänen, 2010; Venezia & Allee,
2007). Time constraints and tight schedules of mobile employees together with time-
consuming downloads of connections and programs also make it unreasonable to start
virtual work (Axtell et al., 2008; Brown & O'Hara, 2003; Breure & van Meel, 2005; Mark &
Su, 2010; Perry et al., 2001; Perry & Brodie, 2006).
The security regulations of mobile employees' own or their customers' companies may
hinder the access to and functioning in virtual places (Brown & O'Hara, 2003; Mark & Su,
2010;). In addition very expensive connections may present a barrier to employing
functional connections (Axtell el al., 2008).
2.3 The elements of psychosocial comfort and fit in the virtual workplace of a mobile
employee
In Vischer's (2005, 2007) environmental comfort model, psychological comfort links
psychosocial aspects with environmental design and management of workspace through the
concepts of
territoriality, privacy and control.
A sense of territory is associated with feelings of belonging and ownership. Territoriality of
the virtual work place may be considered as a different composition of public, semipublic
and private virtual places. Public shared places and platforms include the internet, many
applications of social media and interfaces which are open for everyone. Semipublic areas
include applications and media channels which demand an identity but are still shared
among a defined group of users. The private zone requires a personal key and passwords
and the content is not shared or if so, the principles of sharing are decided by the individual
user. Virtual territory is personalized by individual choices e.g. in screen savers, chosen
applications and programs. The visual appearance is a significant factor indicating both
individual ownership and social belonging e.g. to the organization (see Ettlinger 2008).
In many cases, the need for belonging will not come true in virtual spaces (Brown & O´Hara,
2003; Hallford, 2005; Mann & Hodsworth, 2003, Perry et al., 2001). The lack of belonging is
affected also by limited access to colleagues and individuals, who are distant. This is the
case of the mobile employee's physical world but also the case of virtual reality, e.g., when
