Abstract There is a common assumption that information communication technology (ICT) enables employees to work together and to be virtually co-present, regardless of time and place. However, previous studies of social networking sites (e.g. Facebook and social enterprise media in work settings) show a consistent tendency among users to reconnect and communicate online almost exclusively with people they already know. The paper at hand examines in depth what role shared places have in knowledge work and in creating a virtual or online co-presence among knowledge professionals. The findings of the present study show that the tendency of communicating with known others in online spaces is also at play in the offline workplace, as professionals approach those whom they already know when in need of work-related help. One of the conclusions is that the geographical workplace plays a key role in creating a common ground for communication and social integration among employees, since a core dimension in knowledge work is social interaction. The paper uses insights from a qualitative and longitudinal case study (2010–2013) of a multinational consultancy company.

中文翻译：

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跨国工作场所中在线和虚拟空间中离线交流和社交互动场所的作用

摘要有一个普遍的假设，即信息通信技术（ICT）使员工可以在一起工作，并且几乎可以在任何时间和地点协同工作。但是，先前对社交网站（例如，工作环境中的Facebook和社交企业媒体）的研究显示出一种一致的趋势，即用户之间几乎完全重新与他们已经认识的人重新建立联系并进行在线交流。本白皮书深入探讨了共享场所在知识工作中以及在知识专业人员之间创建虚拟或在线共存时所扮演的角色。本研究的结果表明，在离线工作场所中，与在线其他人交流的趋势也在发挥作用，因为专业人士会在需要工作相关帮助时与他们已经认识的人接触。结论之一是，地理工作场所在建立员工之间的沟通和社会融合的共同基础中扮演着关键角色，因为知识工作的核心是社会互动。本文利用了一家跨国咨询公司的定性和纵向案例研究（2010-2013年）得出的见解。