Impact of Work Isolation on Performance in Information Technology Area: An Empirical Examination

This study examines the effects of isolation among information technology (IT) workers on organizational commitment, job satisfaction, and job performance. A survey questionnaire was used to measure the impact of worker isolation on organizational commitment, job satisfaction, and job performance. The survey instrument was first tested for validity and then emailed to 500 IT employees working in Fortune 500 companies in the United States. A total of 101 valid responses were received.

Statistical analysis of the survey data was conducted using reliability testing and correlation analysis. The findings reveal a statistically significant relationship between worker isolation and job performance. The results also indicate that higher organizational commitment leads to higher job satisfaction, which in turn results in improved job performance among IT workers.

This study is not an exhaustive survey of all organizations in the United States, as it considers only the opinions of IT employees from selected companies. A case study approach may provide a more in-depth analysis of the relationship between isolation and performance. Organizations should make the necessary investments to develop strategies to address worker isolation in the IT sector and mitigate its effects on job performance. This study provides valuable empirical evidence for the design and implementation of competitive strategies and for determining appropriate dimensions of job performance measurement.

References

Anderson, James C., and David W. Gerbing (1988). Structural Equation Modeling in Practice: A Review and Recommended Two-Step Approach. Psychological Bulletin, 103, 3 (May), 411–423.
Angle, H.L., Lawson, M.B. (1994). Organisational Commitment and Employees Performance Ratings: Both Types of Commitment and Performance Count. Psychological Reports, Vol. 75 pp. 1539–51.
Argote, L. (1999). Organizational Learning: Creating, Retaining, Transferring Knowledge, Kluwer Academic, Boston, MA.
Bauer, T. N. & Green, S. G. (1998). Testing the Combined Effects of Newcomer Information Seeking and Manager Behavior on Socialization. Journal of Applied Psychology, 83(1), 72–84.
Behrman, D. and Perreault, W.D. (1982). Measuring the Performance of Industrial Salespersons. Journal of Business Research, 10, 355–370.
Butler, E.S., Aasheim, C. & Williams, S. (2007). Does Telecommuting Improve Productivity? Communications of the ACM, 50 (4), 101–103.
Connaughton, S. L., & Daly, J. A. (2004). Identification with Leader: A Comparison of Perceptions of Identification Among Geographically Dispersed and Co-located Teams. Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 9(2), 89–103.
Cooper, C. D. & Kurland, N. B. (2002). Telecommuting, Professional Isolation, and Employee Development in Public and Private Organizations. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 23, 511–532.
Dasgupta, S., Sarkis, J. & Talluri, S. (1999). Influence of Information Technology Investment On Firm Productivity: A Cross-sectional Study, Logistics Information Management, 12 (1/2), 120–129.
Diamantopoulos, Adamantios, and Judy A. Siguaw (2000), Introducing LISREL, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Feldman, D. C. & Gainey, T. W. (1997). Patterns of Telecommuting and Their Consequences: Framing the Research Agenda. Human Resource Management Review, 7(4), 369–388.
Fishbein, M. (1967). Attitudes and the Prediction of Behavior, in Fishbein, M. (Ed.), Readings in Attitudes Theory and Measurement, Wiley, New York, NY, 477–92.
Gainey, T. W., Kelley, D. E. & Hill, J. A. (1999). Telecommuting's Impact of Corporate Culture and Individual Workers: Examining the Effect of Employee Isolation. SAM Advanced Management Journal, 64(4), 1–4.
Goris, J., Vaught, B., Pettit, J. (2000), Effects of Communication Direction on Job Performance and Satisfaction: A Moderated Regression Analysis, The Journal of Business Communication, Vol. 37 No.4, pp. 348–68.
Harpaz, I. (2002). Advantages and Disadvantages of Telecommuting for the Individual, Organization and Society. Work Study, 51(2/3), 74–80.
Hart, Z. P., Miller, V. D. & Johnson, J. R. (2003). Socialization, Resocialization, and Communication Relationships in the Context of an Organizational Change. Communication Studies, 54(4), 483–496.
Jaramillo, E., Nixon, R. & Sams, D. (2005). The Effect of Law Enforcement Stress on Organizational Commitment. Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies and Management, 28(2), 321–337.
Kalleberg, A., Marsden, P. (1995), Organisational Commitment and Job Performance in the US Labour Force, Research in the Sociology of Work, Vol. 5 pp. 235–57.
Kurland, N. B., & Cooper, C. D. (2002). Manager Control and Employee Isolation in Telecommuting Environments. Journal of High Technology Management Research, 13(1), 107–126.
Low, G.S., Cravens, D.W., Grant, K. & Moncrief, W.C. (2001). Antecedents and Consequences of Salespersons Burnout. European Journal of Marketing, 35(5/6), 587–611.
Loy, S.L., Brown, S., and Butler, E.S. (2003). Telecommuting at Kentucky American Water Company. Journal of the International Academy for Case Studies 9, 5, 53–60.
Mann, S., Varey, R. & Button, W. (2000). An exploration of the Emotional Impact of Tele-working via Computer-Mediated Communication. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 15(7), 668–686.
Mason, C. M., Chang, A. C. F., & Griffin, M. A. (2005). Strategic Use of Employee Opinion Surveys: Using A Quasi-Linkage Approach to Model the Drivers of Organisational Effectiveness. Australian Journal of Management, 30(1), 127–143.
McQuitty, Shaun (2004), Statistical Power and Structural Equation Models in Business Research, Journal of Business Research, 57, 2 (February), 175–183.
Mowday, R.T. & Steers, R.M. (1979). The Measurement of Organizational Commitment, Journal of Vocational Behavior, 14, 224–247.
Mowday, R.T., Porter, L.W., Steers, R.M. (1982), Employee-Organization Linkages: The Psychology of Commitment, Absenteeism, and Turnover, Academic Press, New York, NY.
Pateman, C. Participation and Democratic Theory, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1970.
Schermerhorn, R., Hunt, J., Osborn, R. (2001). Organisational Behavior, 7th ed., Wiley, New York, NY.
Smith, P., Kendall, L., Hulin, C. (1969). The Measurement of Satisfaction in the Work and Retirement, Rand McNally, Chicago, IL.
Somers, M., Birnbaum, D. (1998). Assessing Self-Appraisal of Job Performance as an Evaluation Device: Are the Poor Results a Function of Method or Methodology? Human Relations, Vol. 44 No.10, pp. F08.1–91.
Upton, D.M. & Kim, B. (1999). The Alternative Methods of Learning and Process Improvement in Manufacturing, Journal of Operations Management, 16, 1–20.
Vega, G., & Brennan, L. (2000). Isolation and Technology: The Human Disconnect. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 13(5), 468–481.
Ward, N. & Shabha, G. (2001). Teleworking: An Assessment of Socio-Psychological Factors. Facilities, 19(1/2), 61–70.
Weiss, D.J., Davis, R.V., England, G.W., Lofquist, L.H. (1967). Minnesota studies in Vocational Rehabilitation, Manual for the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire, University of Minnesota Industrial Relations Center, Minneapolis, Vol. 22.
White, M.M., Parks, J.M., Gallagher, D.G. (1995). Validity for the Organizational Commitment Questionnaire in the Japanese Corporate Culture. Educational and Psychological Measurement, Vol. 55 No.2, 278–90.
Wiesenfeld, B. M., Raghuram, S. & Garud, R. (2001). Organizational Identification among Virtual Workers: The Role of Need for Affiliation and Perceived Work-Based Social Support. Journal of Management, 27(2), 213–230.

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Atul Gupta, Niharika Patel, Tony Bonavita . (2009). Impact of Work Isolation on Performance in Information Technology Area: An Empirical Examination. DIAS Technology Review, 6(1), 41-47.

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[1] Anderson, James C., and David W. Gerbing (1988). Structural Equation Modeling in Practice: A Review and Recommended Two-Step Approach. Psychological Bulletin, 103, 3 (May), 411–423.

[2] Angle, H.L., Lawson, M.B. (1994). Organisational Commitment and Employees Performance Ratings: Both Types of Commitment and Performance Count. Psychological Reports, Vol. 75 pp. 1539–51.

[3] Argote, L. (1999). Organizational Learning: Creating, Retaining, Transferring Knowledge, Kluwer Academic, Boston, MA.

[4] Bauer, T. N. & Green, S. G. (1998). Testing the Combined Effects of Newcomer Information Seeking and Manager Behavior on Socialization. Journal of Applied Psychology, 83(1), 72–84.

[5] Behrman, D. and Perreault, W.D. (1982). Measuring the Performance of Industrial Salespersons. Journal of Business Research, 10, 355–370.

[6] Butler, E.S., Aasheim, C. & Williams, S. (2007). Does Telecommuting Improve Productivity? Communications of the ACM, 50 (4), 101–103.

[7] Connaughton, S. L., & Daly, J. A. (2004). Identification with Leader: A Comparison of Perceptions of Identification Among Geographically Dispersed and Co-located Teams. Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 9(2), 89–103.

[8] Cooper, C. D. & Kurland, N. B. (2002). Telecommuting, Professional Isolation, and Employee Development in Public and Private Organizations. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 23, 511–532.

[9] Dasgupta, S., Sarkis, J. & Talluri, S. (1999). Influence of Information Technology Investment On Firm Productivity: A Cross-sectional Study, Logistics Information Management, 12 (1/2), 120–129.

[10] Diamantopoulos, Adamantios, and Judy A. Siguaw (2000), Introducing LISREL, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

[11] Feldman, D. C. & Gainey, T. W. (1997). Patterns of Telecommuting and Their Consequences: Framing the Research Agenda. Human Resource Management Review, 7(4), 369–388.

[12] Fishbein, M. (1967). Attitudes and the Prediction of Behavior, in Fishbein, M. (Ed.), Readings in Attitudes Theory and Measurement, Wiley, New York, NY, 477–92.

[13] Gainey, T. W., Kelley, D. E. & Hill, J. A. (1999). Telecommuting's Impact of Corporate Culture and Individual Workers: Examining the Effect of Employee Isolation. SAM Advanced Management Journal, 64(4), 1–4.

[14] Goris, J., Vaught, B., Pettit, J. (2000), Effects of Communication Direction on Job Performance and Satisfaction: A Moderated Regression Analysis, The Journal of Business Communication, Vol. 37 No.4, pp. 348–68.

[15] Harpaz, I. (2002). Advantages and Disadvantages of Telecommuting for the Individual, Organization and Society. Work Study, 51(2/3), 74–80.

[16] Hart, Z. P., Miller, V. D. & Johnson, J. R. (2003). Socialization, Resocialization, and Communication Relationships in the Context of an Organizational Change. Communication Studies, 54(4), 483–496.

[17] Jaramillo, E., Nixon, R. & Sams, D. (2005). The Effect of Law Enforcement Stress on Organizational Commitment. Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies and Management, 28(2), 321–337.

[18] Kalleberg, A., Marsden, P. (1995), Organisational Commitment and Job Performance in the US Labour Force, Research in the Sociology of Work, Vol. 5 pp. 235–57.

[19] Kurland, N. B., & Cooper, C. D. (2002). Manager Control and Employee Isolation in Telecommuting Environments. Journal of High Technology Management Research, 13(1), 107–126.

[20] Low, G.S., Cravens, D.W., Grant, K. & Moncrief, W.C. (2001). Antecedents and Consequences of Salespersons Burnout. European Journal of Marketing, 35(5/6), 587–611.

[21] Loy, S.L., Brown, S., and Butler, E.S. (2003). Telecommuting at Kentucky American Water Company. Journal of the International Academy for Case Studies 9, 5, 53–60.

[22] Mann, S., Varey, R. & Button, W. (2000). An exploration of the Emotional Impact of Tele-working via Computer-Mediated Communication. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 15(7), 668–686.

[23] Mason, C. M., Chang, A. C. F., & Griffin, M. A. (2005). Strategic Use of Employee Opinion Surveys: Using A Quasi-Linkage Approach to Model the Drivers of Organisational Effectiveness. Australian Journal of Management, 30(1), 127–143.

[24] McQuitty, Shaun (2004), Statistical Power and Structural Equation Models in Business Research, Journal of Business Research, 57, 2 (February), 175–183.

[25] Mowday, R.T. & Steers, R.M. (1979). The Measurement of Organizational Commitment, Journal of Vocational Behavior, 14, 224–247.

[26] Mowday, R.T., Porter, L.W., Steers, R.M. (1982), Employee-Organization Linkages: The Psychology of Commitment, Absenteeism, and Turnover, Academic Press, New York, NY.

[27] Pateman, C. Participation and Democratic Theory, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1970.

[28] Schermerhorn, R., Hunt, J., Osborn, R. (2001). Organisational Behavior, 7th ed., Wiley, New York, NY.

[29] Smith, P., Kendall, L., Hulin, C. (1969). The Measurement of Satisfaction in the Work and Retirement, Rand McNally, Chicago, IL.

[30] Somers, M., Birnbaum, D. (1998). Assessing Self-Appraisal of Job Performance as an Evaluation Device: Are the Poor Results a Function of Method or Methodology? Human Relations, Vol. 44 No.10, pp. F08.1–91.

[31] Upton, D.M. & Kim, B. (1999). The Alternative Methods of Learning and Process Improvement in Manufacturing, Journal of Operations Management, 16, 1–20.

[32] Vega, G., & Brennan, L. (2000). Isolation and Technology: The Human Disconnect. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 13(5), 468–481.

[33] Ward, N. & Shabha, G. (2001). Teleworking: An Assessment of Socio-Psychological Factors. Facilities, 19(1/2), 61–70.

[34] Weiss, D.J., Davis, R.V., England, G.W., Lofquist, L.H. (1967). Minnesota studies in Vocational Rehabilitation, Manual for the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire, University of Minnesota Industrial Relations Center, Minneapolis, Vol. 22.

[35] White, M.M., Parks, J.M., Gallagher, D.G. (1995). Validity for the Organizational Commitment Questionnaire in the Japanese Corporate Culture. Educational and Psychological Measurement, Vol. 55 No.2, 278–90.

[36] Wiesenfeld, B. M., Raghuram, S. & Garud, R. (2001). Organizational Identification among Virtual Workers: The Role of Need for Affiliation and Perceived Work-Based Social Support. Journal of Management, 27(2), 213–230.