Not too much, nor too less: Investigating which information should be shared for awareness between remote workers

Abstract

Many companies are focusing on remote working since the Covid-19 pandemic. One difference between remote working environment and face-to-face setting is the absence of natural awareness, which promotes social interaction and helps coordination of work flow. To maintain the benefits of awareness in a remote working environment, it is important to first understand which information remote workers disclose and need for awareness. In this paper, we aim to investigate which information is disclosed and needed, and provide insights to mitigate the difference between the two. We conducted a case study with an actual workgroup of a university laboratory for a week. They disclosed and accessed each other's status information while working remotely. Then, a semi-structured interview asked why certain information was disclosed or accessed. Our results provide understanding over information sharing between remote workers for awareness in a post-pandemic world.