Due to the COVID-19 crisis, managers and employees in many organizations suddenly are forced to work from home. Although working from home (WFH) is not a new phenomenon, it is new in its current scale and scope because of COVID-19. Against this background, we investigate the effect of WFH during the COVID-19 crisis on changes in leadership behaviors, and associated changes in perceived manager quality and productivity, at different hierarchical levels in organizations. Based on the literature, we develop two predictions in opposite directions. On the one hand, implementing WFH may force managers to show less direction and control and especially more delegation. On the other hand, research into the effects of exogenous shocks such as COVID-19, suggests that managers may become more controlling and delegate less. Consistent with the first prediction, we find that managers perceive they execute significantly less control and delegate more. Employees also perceive a significant decrease in control, however they perceive on average no change in delegation. Furthermore, and in line with the second prediction, employees of lower-level managers even report a significant decrease in delegation. Finally, our results show that increased delegation is associated with increased perceived productivity and higher manager quality. Together, these results suggest that in the context of the COVID-19 crisis, the effectiveness of WFH might be hampered by the fact that required changes in leadership behaviors, in particular in delegation, are difficult to realize in times of crisis.

由于 COVID-19 危机，许多组织的经理和员工突然被迫在家工作。尽管在家工作 (WFH) 并不是一个新现象，但由于 COVID-19，它在目前的规模和范围内是新的。在此背景下，我们调查了在 COVID-19 危机期间 WFH 对组织不同层级领导行为变化以及感知经理质量和生产力的相关变化的影响。根据文献，我们提出了两个相反方向的预测。一方面，实施 WFH 可能会迫使管理者表现出更少的指导和控制，尤其是更多的授权。另一方面，对 COVID-19 等外源性冲击影响的研究表明，管理者可能会变得更有控制力并减少委派。与第一个预测一致，我们发现，经理们认为他们执行的控制权明显减少，而授权更多。员工还认为控制权显着下降，但他们平均认为授权没有变化。此外，与第二个预测一致，下级管理人员的员工甚至报告授权显着减少。最后，我们的结果表明，增加授权与提高感知生产力和更高的经理质量有关。总之，这些结果表明，在 COVID-19 危机的背景下，WFH 的有效性可能会受到以下事实的阻碍：在危机时期很难实现领导行为的必要改变，尤其是授权方面的改变。员工还认为控制权显着下降，但他们平均认为授权没有变化。此外，与第二个预测一致，下级管理人员的员工甚至报告授权显着减少。最后，我们的结果表明，增加授权与提高感知生产力和更高的经理质量有关。总之，这些结果表明，在 COVID-19 危机的背景下，WFH 的有效性可能会受到以下事实的阻碍：在危机时期很难实现领导行为的必要改变，尤其是授权方面的改变。员工还认为控制权显着下降，但他们平均认为授权没有变化。此外，与第二个预测一致，下级管理人员的员工甚至报告授权显着减少。最后，我们的结果表明，增加授权与提高感知生产力和更高的经理质量有关。总之，这些结果表明，在 COVID-19 危机的背景下，WFH 的有效性可能会受到以下事实的阻碍：在危机时期很难实现领导行为的必要改变，尤其是授权方面的改变。我们的研究结果表明，增加授权与提高感知生产力和更高的经理质量有关。总之，这些结果表明，在 COVID-19 危机的背景下，WFH 的有效性可能会受到以下事实的阻碍：在危机时期很难实现领导行为的必要改变，尤其是授权方面的改变。我们的研究结果表明，增加授权与提高感知生产力和更高的经理质量有关。总之，这些结果表明，在 COVID-19 危机的背景下，WFH 的有效性可能会受到以下事实的阻碍：在危机时期很难实现领导行为的必要改变，尤其是授权方面的改变。