Good Disruption: The Virtual Workplace

The COVID pandemic forced people to work from home and left many questioning the value of going back into the office. Employee surveys suggest that most workers want to retain some form of remote work, either full-time or hybrid. In response to this shift, large companies have announced hybrid work plans. It seems that fully working on-site is a thing of the past.

There are many emotional, societal and environmental benefits to remote work. No longer are employees tied to city centers with higher costs of living, and reduced travel will lower greenhouse gas emissions. There are also benefits to companies, with some research suggesting that remote workers are more productive. Yet challenges like Zoom fatigue exist. How do organizations navigate this new normal?

Hosts and Darden Professors Yael Grushka-Cockayne and Mike Lenox speak with colleague Roshni Raveendhran, whose research focuses on understanding the future of work. She examines how technological advancements influence organizational actors, workplace practices and the management of employees. In doing so, she develops insights about how organizations can effectively integrate novel technologies into the workplace to manage employees and address the changing nature of work.

About the Expert

Roshni Raveendhran

Assistant Professor of Business Administration

Raveendhran’s research focuses on the future of work: how technological advancements influence organizational actors and business practices, the integration of novel technologies into the workplace and how organizations can increase the effectiveness of their human resource management practices to address the changing nature of work.

With expertise in leadership and decision-making, Raveendhran holds a bachelor of arts in psychology from the University of Texas at Arlington and a Ph.D. in business administration from the University of Southern California, where she received multiple teaching awards. Her dissertation on behavior-tracking technologies was recognized as a finalist in the INFORMS Best Dissertation competition.

B.A., University of Texas at Arlington; Ph.D., University of Southern California

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About the Expert

Yael Grushka-Cockayne

Senior Associate Dean for Professional Degree Programs; Altec Styslinger Foundation Bicentennial Professor of Business Administration

Grushka-Cockayne’s research and teaching activities focus on decision analysis, forecasting, project management and behavioral decision-making.

As an expert in the area of project management, she has served as a consultant to international firms in the aerospace and transportation industries. She is the secretary/treasurer of INFORMS Decision Analysis Society, a U.Va. Excellence in Diversity fellow and member the Project Management Institute.

B.Sc., Ben-Gurion University; M.Sc., London School of Economics; M.Res., Ph.D., London Business School

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About the Expert

Michael Lenox

Special Adviser for the Dean; Tayloe Murphy Professor of Business Administration

Lenox’s expertise is in the domain of technology strategy and policy. He studies the role of innovation in helping a business succeed. In particular, he explores the sourcing of external knowledge by firms and this practice’s impact on a company’s innovation strategy. Lenox has a longstanding interest in the interface between business strategy and public policy as it relates to the natural environment; his work explores firm strategies and nontraditional public policies that have the potential to drive green innovation and entrepreneurship.

In 2013, Lenox co-authored The Strategist’s Toolkit with Darden Professor Jared Harris. His latest book,

Lenox is a prolific author; his most recent book, Strategy in the Digital Age: Mastering Digital Transformation, examines how digital technologies and services enable the creation of innovative products and services, as well as identifying new competitive positions.

B.S., M.S., University of Virginia; Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology

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