Imagine you are an employee at a large office. This, being a modern 21st century office, has an open-floor workspace layout that allows for great communication and easy access between managers and employees. There are a couple of watercoolers for the casual chat and a nice, almost café-esque, kitchen and seating area for people to enjoy their lunchtime. This in-person, open office is an ideal environment for managers and employees to display authentic leadership and encourage employee engagement. COVID-19 has significantly altered this idealized workplace. As companies across the nation have moved from in-person offices to fully remote work-from-home arrangements, challenges to authentic leadership and employee engagement have arisen. This blog will examine and analyze how authentic leadership and employee engagement have been challenged, changed, and affected by COVID-19.
When examining authentic leadership during COVID-19, it can be helpful to look at prior instances where extraneous circumstances have made an impact on leadership. This can help identify potential challenges for today. An event that has affected the working environment on a similar scale as COVID-19, was the 2007-2008 financial collapse. It became apparent that the failure of banking leadership resulted in workplace behavior that contributed to the crisis (Henisz, 2011). Following the crisis, there was an examination of authentic leadership within the banking industry (Henisz, 2011). Banking leadership, despite publicly endorsing reformed work values, did not actually follow them privately (Spicer, 2020). There was a clear disconnect between what was publicly being stated and what was actually happening within the workplace (Spicer, 2020). When authentic leadership is not displayed, the workplace becomes less open and employees become less engaged. Although COVID-19 is a different type of crisis than the financial crisis, this type of failure of authentic leadership is a very real and relevant threat. Now, more than ever, employees need a clear standard of values and strong authentic leadership reflecting them in order to foster employee engagement. In order to examine leadership responses to COVID-19, we will look at an industry particularly affected by the crisis, supermarkets.
During the pandemic, no industry faced more hardship than supermarkets. While many experienced the hecticness as a customer, the article “It’s Like a War Zone” gives us an inside look of an employee’s experience and his feelings of anger and frustration due to his work environment. Due to COVID-19, new guidelines were made so that managers can excuse themselves from their workplace to avoid spreading the virus. This is beneficial when focusing on limiting the exposure of COVID-19 to others, however, this leaves employees without any management and leadership. The employee, Jay, fights feelings of frustration due to work intensification and disruption because of “absent management” and “a lack of clear organizational policies” (Cai, Velu, Tindal, et al., 2020). These problems result in changes in normality in the workplace. For instance, employees showing up late and not doing their job the way they were ordered to. Clearly, the environment in this workplace does not display any form of authentic leadership. This is a big reason as to why the employee describes his workplace as a “war zone” (Cai, Velu, Tindal, et al., 2020). Work environments should never feel hostile and according to this employee’s experience, the solution to this is having revised standards and authentic leadership allowing managers to have a better relationship with their employees.
Having honest and stable relations with managers assists with employee’s engagement and motivation in the workplace. Satisfaction of employees is vital for positive performance in any business. However, maintaining satisfaction of employees can look quite different during this pandemic, and requires new unique approaches. Now more than ever, it is important for managers to express empathy and instill a trusting relation with their employees. In a virtual workplace, managers must provide feedback to their employees and encourage communication amongst each other. Effective communication can reduce the gaps and any misunderstanding that may result from being in a solely virtual team environment (Meenakshi Kaushik, & Neha Guleria, 2020). For managers to be authentic leaders they must stay aware of their strengths and weaknesses and understand that this time is challenging and new to everyone. For managers, checking in with employees on an emotional level can be just as important to ensure they are emotionally capable of putting their best efforts in the success of the company. Determining the right way for managers to stay connected with employees can vary industry to industry.
Having a genuine relationship with your manager, as an employee, is crucial to the success and efficiency of a company. Before COVID-19 altered the way a lot of people lived, one company decided to completely change the way employees and managers interact. The San Mateo County Libraries decided that they weren’t happy with the efficiency of traditional methods such as yearly performance reviews. They were influenced by Marcus Buckingham and Ashley Goodall, who made the case that the traditional annual reviews are not only expensive and time consuming, but also promotes an unhelpful focus on the past rather than preparing for the future. The San Mateo County Libraries revised the old ways and implemented a brand-new system which removed yearly performance reviews entirely and moved toward weekly check ins. Only weeks into the new system did employees and managers see a substantial difference. Due to this new, more authentic way of leadership from the managers, employees expressed a healthier feeling of “interpersonal connectedness” (Risley, 2020). As a result of this constant facetime and new attitude from everyone, the narrative about managers was redefined. People were no longer scared to be called to the manager’s office and employees saw their managers as a coach rather than a drill sergeant. Weekly surveys would ultimately indicate a record high participation rate. On top of that, 91% of staff noticed a drastic improvement of communication (Risley, 2020). After complications of the rising global pandemic reached its high, changes had to be made in order to continue this growth mindset focused system. In order to adapt, the libraries were forced to transition their entire workforce to telework in a single day. The weekly meetings would continue virtually and the strong relationships that were created years prior would serve the company well during these difficult times.
While COVID-19 and the ensuing lockdown has completely altered the way both management and employees interact with one another, it has also had immense impacts on how employees interact with one another. These changes to the workplace interpersonal connectedness are especially seen in industries where the organizations are having to find ways to improve employee morale and engagement while still maintaining company goals. Some engagement measures that have been found to be exceptionally successful when implemented include shared content (such as TED Talks, online books, online courses, and shared online information), digital classrooms, and group lunch gatherings via video conference (Chanana & Sangeeta, 2020). These engagement activities are crucial in being able to develop a positive work environment that will help interpersonal connectedness and establish the support and a sense of normalcy that is necessary in between employees. In many work environments it is critically important that management uses these tools to be able to generate an environment that is conducive to the company’s goals and, equally as important, the wellbeing of the employees. Being able to use technology to enhance the employee’s workplace connectedness, even while being remote, will ensure that companies will create a positive work environment conducive of interpersonal connectedness.
As expressed, there is a new reality for workers during these uncertain and challenging times brought on by the ongoing global pandemic. Shifting to a digital work environment has left employees feeling unmotivated and disengaged due to the lack of face-to-face communication. Therefore, it is crucial management can communicate, lead, and assist with employee’s adherence to current workplace standards and help them adjust to this new normalcy. Focusing on employee needs by staying connected with them virtually can help ease the increased stress that COVID-19 has caused and help create a positive well-functioning digital work environment. Embodying an authentic leader is vital for managers to properly motivate employees. Determining appropriate leadership strategies and implementing them in virtual interactions with team members provides many benefits to a company. By providing satisfactory communication with team members, managers can keep employees engaged and maintain a positive work environment.
Authors: Alex LeFrancois, Gabryelle Peters, Jordan Lee, Cindy Lara, and Cooper Cummings. *Everyone has contributed equally in the blog writing process.
References
Cai, M., Velu, J., Tindal, S., & Bennet, S. T. (2020). ‘It’s Like a War Zone’: Jay’s Liminal Experience of Normal and Extreme Work in a UK Supermarket during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Work, Employment and Society. https://doi.org/10.1177/0950017020966527
Chanana, N., & S. (2020). Employee engagement practices during COVID‐19 lockdown. Journal of Public Affairs, (E2508). https://doi.org/10.1002/pa.2508
Henisz, W. J. (2011). Leveraging the Financial Crisis to Fulfill the Promise of Progressive Management. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 10(2). https://doi.org/10.5465/amle.10.2.zqr298
Meenakshi Kaushik, & Neha Guleria. (2020). Employee Relations and Engagement during
COVID-19. Sparkling International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research Studies, 3(2),
1-11 https://www.johnfoundation.com/journals/sparkling/sijmrsv3i2-2020/s-31/
Risley, C. (2020). Maintaining Performance and Employee Engagement During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Journal of Library Administration, 60(6), 653–659.
Spicer, A. (2020). Organizational Culture and COVID-19. Journal of Management Studies, 57(8), 1737-1740. https://doi.org/10.1111/joms.12625