Abstract:
Employee engagement was shown to have positive effects on organisational
performance and business sustainability. Engaged employees function as
organisational human capital resources which benefits organisations through
increased productivity, quality of services and products produced, while saving them
expenses through decreased absenteeism. Flexible work arrangements, which
supports working from home, has also been found by scholars to positively influence
employee engagement. This study sought to understand how a mandatory work from
home context that was influenced by the onset of the global Covid-19 pandemic
impacted employee engagement.
A qualitative research approach was adopted to explore the common drivers of
engagement during the lockdown period. The exploratory nature of the study allowed
the researcher to gain new and deeper insights into the research problem.
Respondents were selected from four different industries in which relevant parts of
their organisations were mandated to work from home for the duration of all lockdown
levels. All 16 interviews, four managers and 12 employees, were conducted online.
Microsoft Teams with enabled video and transcription was utilised to best represent
a face-to-face interactive interview. Thematic analysis was thereafter employed to
analyse the interviews.
The research study largely found that mandatory work from home provided a
conducive environment for employee engagement during unconventional
circumstances which revealed positive employee engagement outcomes. Mandatory
work from home had a positive impact on employee engagement by supporting the
perceived flexible work arrangements that were afforded to employees. This
supported positive work-life balance of employees which was noted as an enabler of
employee engagement. The study also proposed practical recommendations for
organisations to improve employee engagement during mandatory work from home.
As the longevity of this situation and the uncertainty around Covid-19 remain elusive,
this can be utilised as suggestions on improving employee engagement while
organisations continue to mandate their staff to work from home.
The research study was limited to industries within South Africa during lockdown
levels one to five of the Covid-19 period.
