ABSTRACT

Considerable attention has been paid to employees’ experiences when working from home (WFH) during the COVID-19 pandemic, including their well-being and performance. However, less attention has been paid to how managers experience WFH and how this may challenge them in their new role as distance managers. This study investigates how managers of knowledge work experienced distance management during COVID-19. An international survey was distributed in the first weeks of the Danish national lockdown and collected data in spring 2020. Based on Danish responses from 1053 employees and 290 managers of knowledge work, who had limited prior experience in distance management, our analysis revealed 12 items where managers found their work during lockdown to be more challenging than employees did. The implications are that research and practice should consider the well-being and performance consequences of WFH not only for employees but also for managers, as their experiences differ, and the managers express challenges in their leadership.

摘要

在 COVID-19 大流行期间，员工在家工作 (WFH) 的体验受到了极大关注，包括他们的幸福感和绩效。然而，很少有人关注管理人员如何体验 WFH 以及这可能如何挑战他们作为远程管理人员的新角色。本研究调查了知识工作经理在 COVID-19 期间如何体验远程管理。在丹麦全国封锁的前几周发布了一项国际调查，并于 2020 年春季收集了数据。根据丹麦 1053 名员工和 290 名知识工作经理的回答，他们之前在远程管理方面的经验有限，我们的分析揭示了 12 个项目，其中管理人员发现他们在锁定期间的工作比员工更具挑战性。