Hyper-flexible remote work in the french overseas territories: what are the risks in terms of the psychological contract, employee commitment, and the intention to stay?

Abstract

This contribution examines an atypical form of remote work – hyper-flexible work – carried out overseas, 15,706 km from the usual workplace. The implementation of this form of remote work is the organization’s strategy for retaining employees within the company. Using a longitudinal approach, we study the implementation, within the same organization (a business school, BS), of an atypical form of remote work for a teacher-researcher. The aim of this article is to analyze the potential risks of implementing remote work in an extreme situation on the evolution of the psychological contract, employee commitment, and the intention to stay. We draw on the literature on remote work, psychological contracts, and employee commitment, and we contribute to this literature by comparing it with an extreme remote work situation through an exploratory single-case study. This qualitative study, based on semi-structured interviews, explores the managerial relationship in a long-distance remote work context.
The results of our study show an imbalance in the psychological contract to the detriment of the employer, which is usually the opposite. We then highlighted the link between hyper-flexible remote work and the management of dual careers. This also allows us to conclude on various emerging risks in extreme remote work situations, observed over time during the interviews, particularly extreme isolation. This contribution shows that a lack of involvement in the work community, resulting from a long period of time spent away from the organization, can gradually arise despite the employee’s intention to stay and the adaptive capacities of both the employee and the organization.