Table 1
Examples of search terms.
| LEADERSHIP | AND | WELL-BEING | AND | REMOTE WORK | OR | COVID |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leader* | Well-being | Telework | Covid-19 | |||
| Manager* | Health | Work* from home | Corona virus | |||
| Supervisor | Satisfaction | Digital work | 2019-nCoV |
Figure 1
Flowchart of the study selection process.
Table 2
Identified leadership behaviours in the qualitative studies, illustrative quates and examples of studies.
| CATEGORY | DESCRIPTION | ILLUSTRATIVE QUOTES | EXAMPLES OF STUDIES |
|---|---|---|---|
| Communicate and inform | Rapid and frequent communication, preferrably face-to-face. | Communication was described by almost all leaders as a key health-oriented leadership behavior. A rich and asynchronous communication media appropriate to the purpose of communication was named as a basic principle. (Efimov et al., 2020, p. 9) | Adams et al., 2021; AlMazrouei, 2021; AlMazrouei & Zacca, 2021; Bjärntoft et al., 2021; Bosua et al., 2013; Cooper & Kurland, 2002; Delfino & van der Kolk, 2021; Efimov et al., 2020; Felstead et al., 2003; Kurland & Cooper, 2002; Longmuir, 2021; Montreuil & Lippel, 2003; Ruiller et al., 2019; Schwarzmüller et al., 2018; Shipman et al., 2021; Thornton, 2021; Weideman & Hofmeyr, 2020 |
| Provide and use technological tools, such as video, to ease communication. | The finding of this study indicates that employees have come up with new ways to do their work, involving making substantially more video calls and sending many more emails. This was found to be the case for both managers and employees. Most respondents spoke of making use of novel approaches, mainly involving technology, to complete their tasks. (AlMazrouei & Zacca, 2021, p. 12) | ||
| Difficult to achieve good communication, especially digitally. | When you’re face-to-face, you can immediately see what happens in the meeting. The atmosphere […] Someone who says two or three words on her/his business. In teleworking, you miss that: a colleague who isn’t right for example (Ruiller et al., 2019, p. 17) | ||
| Control and set boundaries | Managerial need to control and sometimes survail employees working from home. | An interviewed manager of a non-Big-4 PSF was very clear about his reasons to monitor his team. Since they’re not controlled [at home], I do not take it for granted that they indeed deliver their work within the agreed deadlines. (Delfino & van der Kolk, 2021, p. 1381) | AlMazrouei & Zacca, 2021; Bjärntoft et al., 2021; Bosua et al., 2013; Chafi et al., 2022; Cooper & Kurland, 2002; Delfino & van der Kolk, 2021; Efimov et al., 2020; Felstead et al., 2003; Hascher et al., 2021; Konradt et al., 2000; Kurland & Cooper, 2002; Longmuir, 2021; Montreuil & Lippel, 2003; Ruiller et al., 2019; Schwarzmüller et al., 2018; Shipman et al., 2021; Yarberry & Sims, 2021 |
| Employee need of receiving feedback on work performance. | My manager should not just be calling me when there are problems. I want to hear from my boss when I am doing a good job too. (Shipman et al., 2021, p. 15) | ||
| Employee need of clear and common guidelines and help to set boudaries. | Leaders have a crucial role in curtailing followers’ stress, such as by making explicit arrangements regarding work during non-office time: ‘Leaders need to ensure that the flexibility of work time and space does not lead to a perceived or actual overload of employees. (Schwarzmüller et al., 2018, p. 123) | ||
| Allow autonomy | Trust the employees to do their job and allow responsibility. Do not require constant visibility. | Trust was repeatedly emphasized by managers as a necessary — indeed, unavoidable — element in the supervision of home-located workers. […] In this context, trust referred to a relationship of reciprocal moral obligations in which rewards and productivity were exchanged without investigation. (Felstead et al., 2003, p. 250) | Adams et al., 2021; AlMazrouei & Zacca, 2021; Bosua et al., 2013; Chafi et al., 2022; Charalampous et al., 2021; Delfino & van der Kolk, 2021; Efimov et al., 2020; Felstead et al., 2003; Montreuil & Lippel, 2003; Ruiller et al., 2019; Schwarzmüller et al., 2018; Senthanar et al., 2021; Shipman et al., 2021; Thornton, 2021; Tietze & Nadin, 2011; Varshney, 2021; Weideman & Hofmeyr, 2020 |
| Leading by involving, allow autonomy and facilitate selfleadership. | According to the participants with managerial roles, the widespread implementation of remote work had led to increased autonomy for employees but posed new demands in terms of supporting employees’ adoption of self-leadership strategies. (Chafi et al., 2022, p. 10) | ||
| Support and show empathy | Support and be available to employees not feeling well. | Organizational management should understand that employees are likely feeling overwhelmed and anxious about circumstances related to the virus. I need the boss to be available to staff to talk about fears, to answer questions, and to reassure them about work and other issues that might come up. (Shipman et al., 2021, p. 18) | Adams et al., 2021; AlMazrouei & Zacca, 2021; Chafi et al., 2022; Collins et al., 2016; Efimov et al., 2020; Felstead et al., 2003; Hascher et al., 2021; Kurland & Cooper, 2002; Lee, 2021; Longmuir, 2021; Schwarzmüller et al., 2018; Shipman et al., 2021; Varshney, 2021; Yarberry & Sims, 2021 |
| Show understanding and empathy to the unique situation of the home worker. | Our findings suggest that supervision of teleworkers can require a greater emotional involvement than with office- based staff as supervisors are drawn into the home domain. (Collins et al., 2016, s. 170) | ||
| Valueing and sactioning | Prioritize and facilitate well-being and health. | The prioritisation of wellbeing over learning over the time New Zealand schools were in lockdown was a feature of all the interviews with the principals, who demonstrated empathy for both students and staff. (Thornton, 2021, p. 399) | Bjärntoft et al., 2021; Collins et al., 2016; Efimov et al., 2020; Felstead et al., 2003; Kurland & Cooper, 2002; Montreuil & Lippel, 2003; Schwarzmüller et al., 2018; Shipman et al., 2021; Thornton, 2021; Weideman & Hofmeyr, 2020 |
| Show approval of working from home. | My managers are very understanding, if there are things that I need to do or if all of a sudden I really did have to leave they’re fully understanding and will try to manage and work with me not against me. (Senthanar et al., 2021, p. 300) | ||
| Lead by example, managers valueing their own health shows the issue is important. | Importantly, leaders should also role-model these arrangements (e.g. by not sending emails on weekends). (Schwarzmüller et al., 2018, p. 123) | ||
| Balancing individual and collective needs | Individuals have different needs when working from home. | An evident theme was how organisations have recognised that employees differ in their approach to work and that one method of management cannot accommodate all individuals. (Weideman & Hofmeyr, 2020, p. 7) | Bjärntoft et al., 2021; Chafi et al., 2022; Collins et al., 2016; Cooper & Kurland, 2002; Efimov et al., 2020; Felstead et al., 2003; Kurland & Cooper, 2002; Ruiller et al., 2019; Schwarzmüller et al., 2018; Shipman et al., 2021; Weideman & Hofmeyr, 2020 |
| Managing employees working from home and on-site to reduce “us and them” thinking and conflicts. | They telephone him up and say ‘Hope I didn’t catch you up the ladder’, you know, ‘mowing the lawn’, or whatever else….That’s all good humoured but it’s…not too great a step between that and…genuine animosity, is it?…It doesn’t take much for some people to feel that they’re unfairly disadvantaged…. And it matters an awful lot because all of a sudden you’ve alienated these people from the business. (Felstead et al., 2003, p. 254) |
Table 3
Identified leadership behaviours in quantitative studies and their relation to well-being and work performance.