Abstract
The rapid global spread of the Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) commencing February 2020 ushered in remote working as a means to stem the virus's spread and continue production. However, not all jobs can be remotely performed, as evidenced in Latin America and the Caribbean, where only 20% of available jobs can be executed remotely. Many managers across Latin America and the Caribbean have no experience with managing remote workforces. Several issues exacerbated the challenges these inexperienced and unprepared managers faced, including the lack of training and the unavailability of internet and communication technologies, especially critical disruptive innovations such as broadband internet. The lack of broadband internet and training on using information and communication technologies hinders diversity and inclusion, as many managers and the workforce at large from Latin America and the Caribbean region could not make contributions to global and national production, which negatively affected the quality of their lives.
TopIntroduction
The rapid global spread of Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) attracted various measures to promote self-isolation and stem the virus’s spread (Chaudhry et al., 2020; Rader, 2021). The practice of working remotely or working from home, or telework, drew global traction and notice. The expedited move into national and international lockdown started in February 2020 to facilitate employees working from home as part of the thrust to minimize the spread of the virus. This sudden shift was unplanned. Many managers in some organizations in Latin America and the Caribbean had no experience with remote-working, as remote-working did not form part of the organizational culture of these corporations. Previously used virtual and videoconferencing platforms or software, especially for globally distributed teams, were never integral to daily work life in many organizations. Even as recently as January 2020, teleworking was not a widespread option and was a privilege in some industries. Typically, remote or telework involved operating one’s own online business, being an employed millennial (Valles Santillán & Flores Maciel, 2020), working for a multinational company and stationed away from one’s home country, or working for a local company from a local coffee shop or a bookstore cafe. In 2017, only 3.4% of the American workforce teleworked (Valet, 2020).
In a 2019 state of remote work report on U.S. managers on employees (N=1,202; ages between 22 and 65), 62% of remote workers received some or quite a bit of training on how to work remotely while 38% of remote workers received no training on how to work remotely (Owl Labs, 2019). As of September 2019, 30% of respondent managers had previously managed remote workers. While 84% of remote employee managers had received at least some training on managing remote employees, 15% of remote employee managers received no training on doing so (Owl Labs, 2019). By the middle of February 2020 and owing to the escalating spread of the COVID-19 virus, approximately 46% of American employers implemented telework and remote work policies, specifically allowing employees to work from home or work offsite to promote isolation and eliminate where possible, interactions between employees (Valet, 2020). The sudden move to quarantining left some organizations in at least three disadvantageous positions. First, organizational leaders sent home managers and employees with neither experience nor training in remote-working (Parker et al., 2020). Second, the organizations lacked proper systems of ensuring and monitoring employee engagement while employees teleworked or worked remotely (Gurchiek, 2020a; Guyot & Sawhill, 2020). Third, the managers and employees had no corporate-provided information and communication technologies and other capabilities to facilitate remote-working (Gurchiek, 2020a; Guyot & Sawhill, 2020).
Townsend et al. (1998) wrote of a future virtual workplace that would not conform to organizational boundaries, geographical location, and timezones. Instead, using information and communication technologies integral to the functioning of these future or virtual workplaces, the employees would display unparalleled new levels of efficiency, teamwork, and flexibility (Townsend et al., 1998). Townsend et al. (1998) visualized virtual teams as groups of geographically or organizationally dispersed coworkers, assembled using a combination of information and communications and technologies inclusive of Internet/Intranet systems, desktop videoconferencing, and collaborative software, to accomplish an organizational task and rarely if ever, meet in a face-to-face setting.
Over time, information and communication technologies’ continued growth (Valles Santillán & Flores Maciel, 2020; Zhan et al., 2020) expedited the remote-working exodus for the COVID-19 pandemic. By March 2020, as the global shutdown of workplaces escalated due to the COVID-19 pandemic, working remotely or working from home or telework became mandatory at an unprecedented pace. In the absence of face-to-face interaction, the need for broadband internet and virtual or videoconferencing meeting platforms and software became imminent.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Latin America and the Caribbean: This is a region of the world comprising 33 countries inclusive of the Bahamas, Caribbean territories, Mexico, and most of Central and South America.
Disruptive Innovation: The innovation that transforms highly sophisticated or expensive products or services, previously accessible to the elite or more skilled segment of consumers, to those that are more affordable and accessible to the general population. This transformation disrupts the market by slowly eclipsing time-hallowed, established competitor(s).
Information and Communication Technology: A suite of electronic tools which enables distributed workforces to work remotely. The suite typically comprises Internet/Intranet systems, desktop or portable computers, mobile phones, videoconferencing, and collaborative software used to accomplish an organizational task.
Telecommuting: Commonly referred to as teleworking, implies that employees occasionally work on-site in addition to working remotely.
Virtual Team: A group of individuals who work in tandem from different geographic regions, using a combination of information and communications technologies to accomplish an organizational task. The group of individuals rarely, if ever, meet in a face-to-face setting. Synonyms used interchangeably are distributed teams, geographically dispersed teams, or remote teams.
Digital Divide: A social and economic inequality driven by unequal access, the difference in usage, or impact of information and communication technologies. There is a digital divide between urban and rural areas in some nations based on unequal access to, the difference in usage, or the impact of information and communication technologies.
Breakthrough Infections: Describes cases where some fully vaccinated individuals have contracted and tested positive for the coronavirus post 14 days after receiving the second dose of the Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines or the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
Broadband: The use of a high-speed internet connection to transmit a wide bandwidth of data based on a minimum of 3 Mbps for upload speed and 25 Mbps for download speed. The higher internet access speeds incorporate multiple categories of technologies such as wireless, cable, DSL, fiber optics, and satellite.
Remote Working: An operational mode that allows professionals to work away from a traditional office environment, incorporating the concept that there is no need for a specific place to execute and complete work-related tasks successfully.
Black Swan: An unpredictable event beyond what is typically expected of a situation and has potentially severe consequences. There are usually no standard operating procedures or contingency plans to manage the event.