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Space, Place and Global Digital Work pp 171–199Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

‘My Company is Invisible’—Generating Trust in the Context of Placelessness, Precarity and Invisibility in Virtual Work

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Part of the book series: Dynamics of Virtual Work ((DVW))

Abstract

This chapter examines how placelessness, precarity and invisibility are experienced in virtual work and analyses the coping strategies used to generate trust by the employee in this context. Challenges posed by working at a distance away from the organisation have received considerable attention. For example, the mobility and flexibility inherent in virtual work creates risks of work-life conflict, work intensification, workaholism, and 24/7 connectivity (Leonardi et al. 2010; MacCormick et al. 2012; Derks et al. 2014; Porter and Kakabadse 2006; Greenhill and Wilson 2006; Hilbrecht et al. 2008; Kelliher and Anderson 2010; Mirchandani 2000; Russell et al. 2009). However, paradoxically, being constantly available through ICTs (Wajcman and Rose 2011) can coincide with experiences of loneliness, isolation, worry and guilt (Collins 2005; Haddon and Lewis 1994; Kurland and Bailey 1999; Mann and Holdsworth 2003; Felstead et al. 2005; Sullivan 2000).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Human Resource Management and Organisational Behaviour (HROB), Lord Ashcroft International Business School, Cambridge, UK

    Nora C. Koslowski

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  1. Nora C. Koslowski
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  1. Inst fur Soziologie, Univ of Vienna Inst fur Soziologie, Wien, Austria

    Jörg Flecker

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Koslowski, N.C. (2016). ‘My Company is Invisible’—Generating Trust in the Context of Placelessness, Precarity and Invisibility in Virtual Work. In: Flecker, J. (eds) Space, Place and Global Digital Work. Dynamics of Virtual Work. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-48087-3_9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-48087-3_9

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-137-48086-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-137-48087-3

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