The relations within a particular organization have to be properly organized and supported all the time to demonstrate good and productive results at work. It is very important for the leaders to know how to organize and control the actions of the other people, for the workers to learn their duties and expectations, and for everyone to comprehend how to develop interactions. Work relationships may be affected by a variety of factors: demographics, the perception of distance that usually depends on leader-follower relations, the identification of needs satisfaction, the ability to provide interactional justice, and the understanding of commitments.
The relational distance at work may be of different types: structural, social, and psychological depending on the characteristics that have to be considered. For example, Erskine (2012) admits that structural distance may be predetermined by physical concepts (location) like interaction frequency (communication at work), interaction channels (computers, mobile phones, etc.), and social distance that touches upon demographic questions (age, race, gender, etc.) and social issues (power, rank, social standing, etc.) (p. 100). In their turn, Magee and Smith (2013) conclude that “individuals in an asymmetrically dependent relationship will experience less social distance than low-power individuals, who, in turn, will experience less distance than high-power individuals” (p. 173). Their ideas seem to be a significant basis for an independent hypothesis that can be developed based on the questionnaires. The questionnaires aim at providing credible information about how the relations at work may and have to be developed; this is why the hypothesis is based on the practices of different people with different backgrounds and skills.
In general, the hypothesis of a future project should sound as follows: work relationships and any other kind of experiences at work have to be controlled and properly organized taking into consideration social and structural distances as well as need satisfaction and commitment because a variety of personal and professional factors may influence the quality of the work and the results that are usually defined beforehand and should be achieved by a company under any conditions.
Reference List
Erskine, L. (2012). Defining relational distance for today’s leaders. International Journal of Leadership Studies, 7(1), 96-113.
Magee, J.C. & Smith, P.K. (2013). The social distance theory of power. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 17(2), 158-186.