This thesis explores the potential of Virtual Reality (VR) as a tool for workforce reintegration after absenteeism, using a Value Sensitive Design (VSD) approach in the context of KLM, a major airline company. The study addresses the values and concerns of cabin crew employees undergoing traditional reintegration processes and examines how VR can be customized to better meet the diverse needs of employees returning to work after prolonged absence.

Background & Problem Area: Certain conditions may lead employees to stay away from their regular working environment for prolonged periods of time. This is called Absenteeism, and many employees stay for a significant time in the reintegration phase, where they work in alternative workplaces for much fewer hours per week before going back to their old duties. The one-size-fits-all designs of reintegration processes have proved unsuccessful considering their prolonged duration. The organizational turbulence & increased costs for companies caused by this phenomenon highlights the need for customized interventions for employees coming back to work.

Research Gap: As such, the first gap that this study will try to address is the lack of understanding of how to customize these processes and how to support employees coming back to work. The adaptability and applications of Virtual Reality makes it potent to be used in the context of workforce reintegration. However, this indicates a second gap regarding whether and how Virtual Reality technologies can be implemented in the workforce reintegration. The novelty of this study and the lack of an existing clear-cut approach, lead to a third research gap of how to implement a Value Sensitive Design approach, to redesign reintegration processes, through VR interventions.

Research Objectives & Questions: The first aim of this research is to explore the values in the context of workforce reintegration as a new way of understanding how to create value-sensitive technologies. The second aim is to understand the potential of using Virtual Reality in the reintegration process to best cater to the needs of their end-users. Therefore, the present study will seek to answer the following research question:

“How can the workforce be reintegrated back to work, by considering their values?”

Research Approach: The study employed a qualitative research approach using an adaptation of the Value Sensitive Design (VSD) framework. This included stakeholder mapping (direct & indirect), semi-structured value-oriented interviews, and VR user-testing sessions. The data was analyzed using a Thematic Content Analysis methodology.

Results: The stakeholder analysis revealed that the stakeholders that were mostly impacted by the technology were the ones with the least influence in the process. The data analysis unveiled that while VR showed potential for bridging the gap between reintegration and regular work environments, it also revealed the need for customization. The study identified the following key values in regards with the workplace: Organizational Support, Work-Life Balance, Autonomy, Safety, Physical Wellbeing, Mental Wellbeing, Purpose & Meaning Workplace Connection. Moreover, the study identified Privacy, Immersivity, Accessibility, Customization, Usability, Human Wellbeing and Autonomy as values implicated in VR design either through their presence or their absence in the technology. The study found that VR could mediate certain work values as depicted into the Virtual Vitality Model (VVM) developed on this basis. However, trade-offs, for example, between Workplace Connection and Physical Wellbeing, are to be considered. The value of Customization, a currently underexplored value, was investigated through the VSD prism, and seems promising to not only redesign processes through redesigning technologies, but also make this process more human-centered and inclusive.
Recommendations: The study recommends implementing VR as a supportive tool in the reintegration process, emphasizing the importance of customization to cater to individual needs and contexts. Customization in the context of reintegration through VR should consider factors such as people’s capabilities, experience with technology, their specific job duties and responsibilities. A transdisciplinary approach between managers and employees is essential for developing a more human-centric design that incorporates the values and needs of all stakeholders, particularly those most affected by the technology.

Conclusions: One of the key messages of this study, that despite people sharing similar values to a certain extent, their values vary among employees, work contexts, and even time periods. The study's strengths lie in its innovative methodology using the power-interest grid within VSD, the holistic approach on incorporating diverse stakeholder perspectives, and employing empathy and trust for data collection, leading to rich data. The weak external validity of this research should prevent us from generalizing the results to other populations and he cross-sectional design does not allow us to observe how VR usage impacts the reintegration process duration overtime. Job Satisfaction was a recurring pattern identified in the data, but it was outside the scope of this study. Future research can aim towards investigating how job satisfaction may impact the duration of the reintegration process and whether work values mediate this relationship.