CHAPTER 6

Self-Efficacy

The concept of self-efficacy was introduced in this book for a very important reason. Self-efficacy was part of the theory developed by Albert Bandura. Bandura explained in his theory that people have always strived to control the events within their lives.¹ By trying to control their lives, people are prone to do what they believe they are good at doing. There is no better feeling than doing something that is done well and knowing you have the skill to do it. This concept often comes into play when there are changes or challenges that require people to perform a task.

The VWE brings both changes and challenges to people working in this new environment. It is hard to imagine that the aspect of working away from the traditional work environment is not a change. It is even harder to imagine that with this remoteness associated with the VWE people are not challenged in terms of being productive.

It is an often-heard conversation that people who work virtually are actually working longer hours and being more productive because they lack the distractions of the other employees or activities that take place in a colocated work situation. This can be translated to a model that says a person starts their work process and their traditional behavior associated with work which results in an outcome for them. It is the outcome that matters in terms of productivity.

The person, the virtual worker, behaves in a particular way to achieve an outcome. This is where the concept of self-efficacy plays an integral part in the VWE. If the virtual workers are disconnected from the rest of the department, is their outcome in line with the expectations of the department or leader?

Since self-efficacy is about a person doing what they can control, it is very much possible that the virtual worker does what they believe is in their control. As the separation becomes longer and the disconnect increases, do the virtual workers start to do what they can control rather than what the department needs? Factors that are defined as human perceptions of trust, isolation, and presence, all play a critical force to the personal control element.

Work is a very large part of a person’s everyday life. This provides them with a sense of self-worth. If a virtual worker’s self-worth is challenged by the work structure, meaning they lack trust, feel isolated, or have a lack of work presence, their self-worth could be decreased. It, therefore, is logical that the individual worker will desire to increase their self-worth. The concept of self-efficacy plays an important role in the level of one’s self-worth. By doing what a person believes they are good at, they can control the outcome. They will perform activities associated with this aspect. Increasing one’s self-worth by doing a better job, having strong behaviors that they control might cause a disconnect with the department’s mission. This causes more of a separation through missed expectations.

The more an individual controls their own environment, thus increasing their self-efficacy, the more they actually might become less productive to the greater good of the department even though they believe they are being more productive.

This can be seen in the amount of rework that is required by virtual workers. It can manifest itself in a way that requires the virtual workers to deliver less then optimal results to the department or can even require the virtual worker to work longer hours to achieve the needed results.

Leaders managing a blended workforce or only virtual workers need to be aware of how self-efficacy could have a negative result related to the productivity of these workers. It is paramount that the assumption of a virtual worker working longer hours is not translated to more productivity. The concept of self-efficacy has to be measured as does the level of trust, isolation, and presence that the virtual worker feels.

¹A Bandura. 1997. Self-Efficacy: The Exercise of Control (New York, NY: W. H. Freeman and Company), p. i.