The impact of mandatory work from home on employee engagement

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.