在家工作可能正在削弱同事關係
Remote work has plenty of fans, but a new study suggests it may be quietly damaging something important: the relationships that help people get their jobs done.
Researchers from the Wharton School in the United States and the University of Texas interviewed around 760 employees at a large financial services company with offices in the US, the UK and India.
They found that working from home could erode what they call "relational capital" – knowing who to ask for help, feeling comfortable asking, and having a colleague who is willing to answer. Staff tended to focus on their own targets, while helping colleagues and training new hires slipped down the list of priorities.
Sending a message was easy, but getting a reply often wasn't. Many people left messages until the next day. Employees with long-standing work friendships got quick answers, while newcomers struggled. One new hire said it took three months to get a response to a question.
Large online meetings had their own problems, with cameras switched off and people doing other work at the same time.
The researchers stress that they are not against remote work, and that some employees benefit from fewer distractions. But they recommend that teams coordinate their office days, give new staff proper introductions, and reward people for helping their colleagues.
遠距工作有很多支持者，但一項新研究指出，它可能正在悄悄傷害一樣很重要的東西：幫助大家把工作做好的人際關係。
美國華頓商學院和德州大學的研究人員訪談了一家大型金融服務公司約 760 名員工，這家公司在美國、英國和印度都有辦公室。
他們發現，在家工作可能會削弱所謂的「關係資本」——知道該找誰幫忙、敢開口問，以及有同事願意回應。員工常常只顧著自己的績效指標，幫忙同事、帶新人這些事就被往後擺。
傳訊息很容易，但要等到回覆可沒那麼容易。很多人會把訊息留到隔天再回。和同事交情好的資深員工很快就能得到答案，新進人員卻常常求助無門。一位新人說，他問的一個問題，過了三個月才有人回覆。
大型線上會議也有問題：很多人關著鏡頭，一邊開會一邊做別的事。
研究人員強調，他們並不反對遠距工作，有些員工在家反而比較不會被打擾。不過他們建議，團隊應該協調好大家進辦公室的日子，替新人安排正式的介紹，並且獎勵願意幫助同事的人。