How to sustain employee engagement in a remote work environment? A case study

The COVID-19 (COVID), pandemic brought challenges to organizations including forcing most organizations to pivot to a remote working model, and some continued with this model post-COVID. This was a new norm of working, where reporting and team relationships became virtual, conversations were deliberate, and processes had to change. Human Resource (HR) professionals were challenged as they sought new ways to continue to keep employees engaged in the new remote work environment. How to sustain employee engagement in a remote work environment? How have employee and leader behaviors changed in a sustained new remote working landscape related to employee engagement? These questions guided my research using a case study and a qualitative research methodology approach. The site for my case study was my place of employment. For purposes of this research, this organization will be referred to as ABC Corporate Federal Credit Union (ABC), which transitioned from the traditional office work environment pre-COVID to a remote work environment post-COVID. The Saks and Gruman Engagement Theory framed the research, however I modified it, to overcome deficiencies that were identified in the model. The data set of participants included 12 employees and 12 leaders who had worked previously in the traditional office environment and now are working remotely. Data was collected by interviewing the participants. The findings indicated that both employee and leader behaviors changed in the remote work environment. The key to sustaining engagement was the foundation that was laid by the organization pre-COVID, such as the mission, vision, values, and the technological resources that were provided to all employees. Employees adapted to the remote work environment by creating workspaces at home, boundaries between home and work, changes in processes, and more reliance on virtual communication. Employees valued and appreciated a remote work environment as there was now an increase in work-life balance and wellness. The research indicated that there was a change in leader behavior as related to modifying processes, communication, and accountability for their teams. Trust between leaders and their teams was vital in this new environment. This research lays the foundation for a road map for organizations to move to a remote work environment. This research implicates several opportunities for future researchers related to remote work and employee engagement.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ed.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Educ Policy, Orgzn & Leadrshp

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2024

Author dc:creator

• Mohile, Sanjyot

Contributors dc:contributor

• Li, Jessica
• Huang, David W.
• Oh, Eunjung G
• Lee, Sharon

• Employee Engagement
• Remote Work
• Engagement Theory

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2024 Sanjyot Mohile

Language dc:language

en, eng

Handle dc:identifier

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/127225

OAI record oai:identifier

https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=etdms&identifier=oai%3Awww.ideals.illinois.edu%3A2142%2F127225