The impact of the enforced working-from-home arrangement on employees' and managers’ well-being and engagement during the pandemic: an exploratory qualitative study in a large Australian bank

Abstract

The aim of the research was to explore the impact of the enforced working-from-home arrangement on employees’ and managers’ well-being and engagement during the pandemic. Employees experienced significant challenges such as, longer working hours, difficulty disengaging from work, and conflict between the work and family spheres grew greater. However, Australian employees highlighted a range of benefits including, the elimination of commuting to and from the office, increased motivation to complete job tasks, and the ability to be more focused at work. The literature review identified a significant gap in the research regarding the failure to acknowledge managers’ experiences of the working-from-home arrangement; this was a crucial oversight. The methodology adopted for the study was an exploratory qualitative research design grounded in the narrative approach and purposive sampling. 12 semi-structured interviews were conducted with seven employees and five managers from a large Australian bank’s head office in Sydney, New South Wales who worked from home during the pandemic. The findings discovered that working longer hours became the norm amongst both employees and managers. This led to participants struggling to balance work, life, university studies, children’s home-schooling, and caring responsibilities. To improve engagement, managers developed and used digital platforms and processes, such as Friday drinks over Zoom. It was further highlighted that managers failed to prioritise their engagement. The data discovered managers did not have a choice as they were responsible for a team, they had to be engaged and available.

Date of Award	2024
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Western Sydney University
Supervisor	Khalil Al Jerjawi (Supervisor)