Remote work comes with a cost: An experimental videoconferencing study with motor-coordination, creative, and problem-solving tasks

Videoconferencing is used by millions to work and collaborate remotely, yet most theoretical research is decades old, and empirical studies on contemporary technology are scarce. In a comparative experimental study, we tested 40 dyads of Psychology students in four tasks (Alternate Uses Test, Desert Survival Situation, Tower of London, Key-Pressing), to find out how videoconferencing-mediated collaboration affects task performance (RQ1) and human subjective experience of the collaboration (RQ2), compared to face-to-face collaboration. We compared task scores by statistical between-group testing and found significant differences in the Tower of London (TOL) and Key-Pressing (Tapping) task. In the TOL, the videoconferencing dyads solved the tasks in significantly fewer moves than the face-to-face group, but needed significantly more time. In the Tapping, the face-to-face group achieved significantly more synchronous key-presses. Regarding their subjective collaboration experience, participants in the face-to-face condition felt significantly more co-present with their dyad partner, yet videoconferencing reported significantly stronger feelings of Perceived Attentional Engagement and Behavioral Interdependence. By interpreting the differences identified in our results, we have formulated four central insights: (1) Comparable performance can be achieved in videoconferencing-mediated collaboration. (2) Videoconferencing-mediated collaboration costs more time and mutual focus than face-to-face collaboration. (3) Tasks that require exact coordination and rely strongly on non-verbal communication can be impacted negatively by videoconferencing-mediated collaboration. (4) By demanding more explicit communication, videoconferencing-mediated collaboration may improve performance in some tasks. Our results may inform technology design and inspire the development of effective ways of using videoconferencing in collaborative activities.