Remote Workplace Communication Study

Slack and Microsoft Teams are primary communication platforms used in modern remote workplaces. A team of occupational psychologists wanted to investigate whether virtual presenteeism among remote software developers was related to asynchronous collaboration quality and daily messaging volume.

The researchers recruited 300 remote developers from various multinational companies via advertisements on professional Slack channels and LinkedIn groups. The sample consisted of 110 males, 185 females, and 5 non-binary individuals aged 23 to 55, with a mean age of 34. After providing informed consent, participants completed an online questionnaire measuring three variables:

• Digital Presenteeism: the perceived pressure to remain visible and active online outside of standard working hours (e.g., 'I feel obligated to respond immediately to messages sent after 6 PM').
• Asynchronous Collaboration Quality: the subjective effectiveness of working with team members without requiring real-time, face-to-face meetings (e.g., 'I can solve complex coding issues efficiently with my team without jumping on a call').
• Messaging Volume: the self-reported average number of direct Slack or Teams messages sent and received per work day.

Responses were scored using a 7-point Likert scale ranging from 'Strongly Disagree (1)' to 'Strongly Agree (7)'. Individual item scores were combined to generate an overall index for each variable.