What the covid 19 crisis reveals about distance management of well being

Abstract

As a consequence of the corona crisis many employees and managers particularly in office and knowledge work became remote workers over night. Previous research has shown that leaders can make a positive impact on the wellbeing of employees. In this article we therefore investigate remote leaders’ experience of their own role and actions aimed at supporting and taking care of the employees’ wellbeing during remote work under pressure from the Covid 19 pandemic. The analytical optics of the article is inspired by literature on emotional labour plus the understanding of the covid19 pandemic as a developer that clarifies and potentially accelerates existing tendencies – also tendencies in work life. On the basis of analyses of 47 interviews with remote leaders conducted during the first months of the pandemic we identify six different management practices through which remote leaders try to support the wellbeing of employees at a distance. In the discussion we debate if employee wellbeing management reflects intensification or blurring of the exploitation aspect of the employer-employee relations or refl ects humanity and compassion.