Impact of Remote Work on Project Risks Management: Focus on Unknown Risks

Unidentified risks, also called unknown unknowns, have been outside the scope of organization risk management for a long time. Many leaders believe uncertainties are difficult to find or imagine in advance. For instance, when COVID-19 spread quickly to different parts of the world in early 2020, the sudden shift of tens of millions of workers from on-site to remote work locations was experienced across the globe. Many businesses sent their staff to work at home, and most enterprises adopted technology to maintain their operations. Remote work has been aided by new technological platforms, including virtual private networks (VPNs), voice over Internet protocols (VoIPs), virtual meetings, and other collaboration tools. During this COVID-19 pandemic, these technologies have reduced the spread of the virus, enabled employers to decrease overhead expenses, helped workers to gain flexibility, and abridged overall organization risks. This study gathers critical information about remote work amidst unknown risks, such as COVID-19 pandemic, by relying on qualitative and quantitative data. The study develops a model to characterize unidentified risks by gathering employees’ perspectives on remote working. Data collected will be compared in terms of the benefits and challenges of remote work. The findings and discussion will be used to suggest and recommend ways organizations can rely on remote work to improve performance and mitigate sudden, unknown risks.