Disconnectedness at Work: Conversations to Connect Theories and Empirics

The increasing work digitization (exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic) has left many individuals feeling disconnected from others. Given the pervasive impact of disconnectedness for employees (e.g., poor health) and organizations (e.g., reduced productivity) alike, it is critical to investigate this topic in more depth. In the current symposium, we bring together scholars across the globe to explore when, why and how disconnectedness at work has negative consequences for employees as well as to critically reflect on and discuss current issues in research on disconnectedness. Drawing upon a variety of methodologies (e.g., scale development, cross-lagged survey) and different levels of analysis (individual and team), our presenters shed light on (a) how professional isolation relates to, and when it would reduce, experiences of role ambiguity, (b) how loneliness from remote work relates to employee exhaustion, (c) the need for a new, validated measurement instrument to properly capture loneliness at the workplace, and (d) how communication-based Faultline in virtual teams affects team coordination. We conclude with an integrative summary that showcases key insights from the presentations and important research questions to address moving forward. Finally, we aim to provide practical insights into what both employees and organizations can do to minimize feelings of disconnectedness at work in today’s digitalized workplace.