8 Summary

This week you have considered how advances in technology have provided the tools for teams to be able to work from home or from remote locations. Work can now be done both asynchronously and synchronously from different locations and this has meant that more employees are able to request the right for flexible working and that some employers are making the decision, often for financial reasons, to locate employees at home.

You have taken some time to consider how you would feel in this situation and thought about what the benefits would be for you, along with your concerns about this type of working. The interview with Vanessa highlighted some of the issues you may encounter should you have the experience of working virtually in an international environment.

You should now be able to:

• describe the key features in a virtual team
• understand some of the advantages of virtual team working for employers and employees
• explain some of the challenges that this way of working raises
• reflect on whether you could thrive in a virtual team.

In Week 3 you will start to look at teams in a broader context, considering how a newly-assembled group (either online or face-to-face) begins to develop into a team, or in some cases, fails to do so.

You can now go to Week 3.