Virtual Work Institutionalization in the Public Sector: A Review of its Potential in South Africa

The use of virtual work (VW) has been in place for a while but was mainly viewed as an alternative to face-to-face work engagement, particularly in the public sector. With the outbreak of coronavirus in South Africa in 2020, virtual work became a new normal as it was rapidly institutionalized across the public sector. While this was thought to be a transient reaction to curb the spread of the pandemic, this article posits that it is likely to remain one of the dominant ways of doing business in the public sector based on its demonstrable benefits. Based on findings of a qualitative study, the paper sheds some light on the mechanisms used to institutionalize virtual work, its benefits and adverse effects. It then argues that based on its advantages, VW has a great potential to contribute to the effectiveness of public sector operations. It therefore recommends that the public sector should optimize the benefits of VW through development of a user-friendly VW policy and continuously evaluating its effectiveness and researching mechanisms for improvement.