Organizational learning in a remote working environment

Abstract

Organizations are existing in constantly changing environments which require them to be flexible and adaptive to be able to persevere and develop further. One of the ways of utilizing change in order to generate organizational advancement is through organizational learning. Moreover, one of the biggest drivers of organizational learning processes are crisis situations. In the last decade, one of the biggest crisis situations for both organizations and individuals has been the COVID-19 pandemic. It has forced organizations to reorganize work practices due to government-imposed restrictions, introducing remote working and reliance on digital technology on a scale never seen before. This new reality has had many influences on organizational life and provides a need for better understanding of its consequences. The objective of this master thesis is to aid in this process with focusing on the area of overlap between organizational learning and remote working. With this in mind, this master thesis explores the following research question “What consequences does remote working have for organizational learning?”. The study is based on data gathered through 12 interviews with consultants and specialists at NAV Kontaktsenter. As a pilar of the welfare-state, NAV has had an important role during the pandemic, with high public expectations regarding adaptability and reliability. Secondary data gathered through reviewing internal documents and statistics to provide more context for the findings of the study. This master thesis reviews the ways in which remote working has influenced different aspects of organizational learning through the Organizational Learning framework devised by Lyman et al. (2019). The different aspects are divided into contextual factors, mechanisms associated with organizational learning and outcomes of organizational learning. This study has found that the changes in work mode have had positive consequences at the individual level with members becoming more self-reliant and employing practices for deliberate learning, which in turn has led to developing task-related skills. At the group level, the study has found negative implications for interactions, developing relationships, and learning through observation and listening in on conversations. Despite this, the study has found that learning at the organizational level has been ensured through developing new systems, routines, and infrastructure to counteract the new IV working situation. The overall results point to the fact that remote working has not had a negative effect on organizational learning as the organization has managed to fulfil its desired outcomes