Virtual Management and the New Normal

Over the past 20–30 years, many public sector organizations have adopted organizational forms that include multi-located organizational units, in which leaders and part of their subordinates work in different geographical locations. The COVID-19 lockdowns have caused a similar trend with an increased use of home offices. Consequently, many leaders today have people working from different geographical locations, and virtual leadership (distant leadership) has become the possible normal practice. The situation before, during and after the COVID-19 pandemic can be understood from multiple theoretical perspectives within organizational research: the technological, the performance gap and the institutional perspective. The purpose of this chapter is to present, illustrate and discuss these three organizational perspectives on the adoption of—and changes related to—telework and virtual leadership. The illustrations of these perspectives are conducted to the old normal and the lockdown period, while the discussion is in relation to possible “new normal practices.” The illustrations are drawn from Norwegian public organizations, and the perspectives build on classic and new contributions within organizational research.

In this chapter, we ask how the sudden spatial redesign of telework during the COVID-19 pandemic has affected organizational identities and the future of telework in Norwegian organizations. The chapter is based on qualitative focus groups and interviews with managers in ten different organizations from the private and public sectors that were carried out in April and October 2021. We distinguish between how discussions about changing management styles, the effect of telework on workplace dynamics and the sense of flux after the pandemic, illustrate how organizational identities have come into play after the pandemic. An important finding is that the managers seem torn between embracing the advantages of telework and proving the organizations’ capacity for and willingness to be flexible on the one hand, and retain the physical workplace as a vital container for social dynamics and organizational identity formation on the other.

The conditions for work from home (WFH) changed radically during the pandemic. WFH during this period comprised social, spatial, and identity-based issues that work at once on both the individual subjective-, and the organizational levels. The aim of this study is to investigate some of the consequences of WFH aspects of thickness and thinness in the work environment when work shifts from the workplace to home. The research questions are ‘How do managers in public and private organizations describe how aspects of thickness, in terms of physical proximity and social relations changed when their staff worked from home during the pandemic; and how can organizational thickness and thinness be further developed to understand the detachment of workers from their working places? The study shows that the organizations studied have been innovative by adjusting and developing strategies for coping with long periods of absence from offices, and that thick places can be created with the help of technology. Finally, the study shows that the pandemic may have future consequences in terms of how work is organized and how technology can be used to complement or substitute for work at working offices but also how large office spaces are needed and where these offices should be located.

In this conceptual chapter, we consider the extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic has affected what employees value in their employment relationship. Drawing from the psychological contract framework, we consider potential shifts in the types of obligations employees find important in the post-pandemic era. We propose that the main dimensions of the psychological contract—transactional, relational, and ideological—are upheld in post-COVID-19 psychological contracts. However, we expect that ideological obligations will generally become more important across industries and job types. Moreover, we posit that the type of obligations underlying the three dimensions will likely change and more importance is expected to be placed on dimensions such as safe working environments, inclusion, and diversity. We discuss the important role of (responsible) inclusive leadership in fulfilling psychological contracts and we present key challenges managers may face in employing (responsible) inclusive leadership in managing psychological contracts remotely beyond the COVID-19 pandemic. We specifically focus on challenges brought on by distrust, micromanaging, and generational differences. We conclude with the limitations of our conceptual endeavour and offer recommendations for future research and implications for practice.

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected many organizations and the way work is performed, emphasizing the importance of human resource management (HRM). Although the HRM literature confirms the vital role of HR managers for firm recovery and survival during a crisis, knowledge remains scarce about what HR managers actually do in times of high disruptions, like a crisis. In this chapter, we explore the use of high-performance work system (HPWS) practices among 269 HR managers during the COVID-19 pandemic; a common set of HRM practices used to engender employee and organisational performance. Using cluster analysis, we identify two distinct groups of HR managers, engaging either in high or low levels of HPWS practices during the crisis. We then investigate how these two clusters relate to organizational and individual characteristics, as well as HR managers’ perceptions of the pandemic. For instance, we find that those managers implementing HPWS to a high degree perceive more changes in their work context than their counterparts do. Our findings provide unique and new insights into group-specific differences associated with high and low levels of HPWS practices. We thereby contribute to the HR literature a fuller understanding of HRM system use in times of a crisis.

In this chapter, we research how changes in learning tension because of the COVID-19 pandemic affect the learning capabilities of HR advisors in a geographically distributed public HR function. The primary research question is therefore: How do tensions related to learning among HR advisors in a health-sector trust change during the COVID-19 pandemic?

Through a longitudinal study consisting of interviews, focus groups, observations, and document studies, we found that the different views with respect to the digital provision of HR services, as well as learning and development, created a tension between the centralized and decentralized HR advisors before the pandemic. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the preconditions for collaboration across the centralized and decentralized HR advisors were changed. Everyone had to work from home with a geographical distance to colleagues and users, combined with more frequent meetings in a crisis situation, which created a sense of unity and belonging. This led to a reduction in learning tensions and cognitive distance and changed the view of learning and development.

The combination of a high tension before COVID-19, and a lower tension during COVID-19, was the balancing act that led to the HR advisors being able to learn from each other, even at a distance and be a relevant support in the innovation process.

This chapter wants to shed light on the consequences that the COVID-19 pandemic had for human resource development (HRD) in organizations and in the labour market. We intend to compare three situations: Old Normal (before February 2020), New Normal (between March 2022 and October 2021), and Renewed Normal (since October 2021). Crucially, in organizations, work was mostly face to face in the Old Normal, remote in the New Normal, and there is a tendency for some hybrid form to be installed in the Renewed Normal. We compare the three phases in terms of four aspects of HRD and within virtual development relations, namely: work environment, competences, training, and skills. The chapter presents results from a literature review in SCOPUS database. We conclude that COVID-19 changed HRD, because technology changed the environment and, therefore, new competences were required. Therefore, a new form of training was also required, which, when in practice, originated new skills.

Onboarding, the process through which newcomers become organization’s insiders, has gained increasing attention in recent years. Such attention is justified by the considerable costs that companies have to face when onboarding is not properly managed. The challenges to manage this process effectively have increased during the COVID-19 pandemic that forced many organizations to onboard newcomers remotely, while fully working from home. The purpose of this chapter is (1) to explore the main goals associated with the onboarding process, (2) analyse the challenges that the COVID-19 pandemic has generated on the onboarding of employees fully working remotely and (3) present some viable solutions to address these challenges. To do this, we developed a conceptual analysis that builds on literature resources and provides empirical illustrations. The chapter is structured as follows. We first summarize the general objectives of the onboarding process for newcomers and organizations. We then discuss the challenges and sustainable solutions for managing the onboarding remotely and help newcomers and organizations get attain their respective objectives. We conclude by reflecting on the post-pandemic scenario, highlighting opportunities for future research focused on the interplay between remote and in presence working domains.

COVID-19 has contributed to a digitalization of communication, and in many cases a distribution of the workforce in organizations. In turn, this has affected knowledge management practices during the pandemic. In particular, this paper scrutinizes the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on onboarding practices in a large public organization. The research aimed to investigate employees’ perceptions of the onboarding process during the COVID-19 pandemic, and how they expect “the new normal” workday to unfold. A total of nine employees were interviewed in a large public organization. We find that COVID-19 caused a certain degree of detachment from the workplace among the new employees, raised issues regarding communication, knowledge sharing and personal development, but also the uptake of an extensive and lasting use of digital administrative systems. The newcomers emphasize the importance of being physically present at work. The unanimous prediction of the post-COVID-19 work future was more flexibility regarding working at the office versus working from home, and a balance for newcomers between presence and e-learning when being onboarded.

Building on the mutual-gains perspective, the present chapter aimed to contribute to the discussion on the future way of (hybrid) working by drawing lessons from employees’ experiences with leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic. More specifically, we investigated the mediating role of work-related flow in the relationships between empowering and directive leadership behaviours, on the one hand, and innovative work-behaviour and work-family balance, on the other. We employed Partial Least squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) to analyse the perceptions, experiences, and behaviours of a group of employees (N = 172) regarding the study’s core variables during three phases of the COVID-19 pandemic (Summer 2020, Autumn 2020 and Winter 2021). Our findings show that work-related flow mediates the relationship between empowering leadership and innovative work-behaviour positively and the relationship between directive leadership and innovative behaviour negatively. However, we found no significant evidence for work-related flow mediating the relationship between leadership behaviour and work-family balance. Additionally, this chapter provides guidance for leaders leading a hybrid workforce.

The ‘forced’ telework from home during the pandemic changed the practices, routines, and especially the working contexts of many employees in a leadership position as leaders themselves became teleworkers in addition to those they were expected to lead. This chapter looks at the challenges and resources of working from home (WFH)—and their ambivalences—among teleworkers and teleworking leaders during the first phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. Survey data was collected immediately after the lockdown. From this data, two subsets were filtered. First, the responses of teleworkers (N = 228) and, second, of teleworking leaders (N = 195) were identified and analysed in regard to the ‘the most challenging’ and ‘the most rewarding’ issues when working from home. The study shows that telework from home is ‘Janus-faced’: telework is simultaneously challenging and rewarding in several respects. In addition, teleworking leaders have a dual role, as they must both adapt to working at home as teleworkers themselves and to being leaders of homeworkers. The findings can be used for designing, organizing, performing, and leading hybrid work in the future. In this evolving ‘new normal,’ leaders need to adapt to their dual role, learn new leadership competencies, and encourage their employees to lead themselves.

Security issues have always been central to workplaces. Increased work performed at home environments caused by COVID-19 pandemic has changed the security landscape of work radically. Security arrangements are no more at the domain of the employer, yet the risks remain, and responsibilities. In this chapter we discuss this new boom of distance work from the viewpoints of data privacy and security, physical safety and mental well-being. The issues are intertwined, and changes, risks and solutions in one of these cause implications for the other areas too. In data privacy and security, the home office environment causes several risks, and the mixed use of devices and facilities both in work and leisure use causes difficulties. Physical safety is compromised in several ways at home environment, which is partly confounding, as the very core of work at home and social distancing is the search for physical security from COVID viruses. Mental well-being problems are a key product of this social distancing, and they do not typically emerge immediately, but first after a long period. With the COVID-19 pandemic over two years, we first start to see the magnitude of the mental well-being problems it has caused. The COVID-19 pandemic is a very short period in history. For individuals living now, it can deeply affect life, especially in critical periods of life. On the positive side, the very special pressure COVID-19 has caused on working life has surely improved and speeded up academic and practical work in distance work development.

The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed and accelerated two trends that are now fully part of the “new normal” of work. First, the erosion of boundaries between work and life has become very salient with the normalization of work from home. Second, the quantification of organizational control, which was already present in monitoring devices and algorithmic management, has reached news levels with electronic monitoring of employees through “bossware” and Internet of Behaviours devices. This essay chapter analyses these trends and argues that active regulation of technology and its implications at work and outside of work is now an integral part of work for workers in many occupations. Specifically, the new normal of work routinely includes devising and adapting rules and behaviours around three major challenges: (a) constant connectivity (when and where workers are connected and available to work); (b) self-presentation (disclosures on video conferences, social media, and other online spaces); and (c) privacy (protecting personal information despite monitoring software, trackers, and algorithmic work). Colliding worlds and quantified algorithmic control are deep-rooted trends that must be addressed by workers, employers, unions, public policy makers, and scholars, if we are to build a new normal sustainable workplace.

Organizations worldwide are racing to create policies, processes, and actions to ensure the safe return to work in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Verifying, collating, and sharing data on COVID-19 test and vaccination status has been a key part of this, supported by employee-held digital certificates often referred to as “vaccine” passports. Since ensuring the safety and well-being of employees is a key remit of Human Resource (HR) departments, HR professionals have had a central role in managing these changes, even more so in the context of government vaccine mandates. This chapter examines sociotechnical considerations for HR professionals managing these new demands. It draws on an analysis of key dialogues within the HR community published in grey literature, interpreted through the lens of the technology-organization-environment (TOE) framework, adapted for the context of COVID-19. By examining the state-of-the-art and proposing recommendations it aims to assist HR managers to facilitate employees’ safe return to work while navigating this complex issue and minimizing any potential negative impact on employees’ safety, well-being, performance, or engagement. Although vaccine passports may not be a permanent feature of the work environment, we believe this chapter still makes important theoretical and practical contributions. It fills a gap in the evidence on HR professionals’ perspectives on HR management during public health emergencies and discusses emergent HR capabilities that could prove useful in a future pandemic. Finally, it suggests an agenda for research going forward.

This survey study (N = 206) focused on the relationship between perceived lockdown intensity (PLI) and work engagement, the mediating role of work-family conflict (work-family and family-work conflict) and the moderating role of family supportive supervisor behaviour during the times of COVID-19. Building on insights from Organizational Behaviour (Job-Demands Resources Model), HRM [ability, motivation, and opportunity (AMO) theory], and management (telework and social isolation) literature, our mediation moderation model showed that PLI is directly related to work engagement and to work-family conflict, and that work-family conflict was not a mediator. In fact, the work-to-family conflict dimension was found to have a positive relationship with work engagement. Furthermore, family supportive supervisor behaviour in the time of COVID-19 was not a moderator, but instead was found to reduce work-life conflict and work engagement. This implies that supportive leadership styles facilitates employees in combining work and family in the time of COVID-19, which subsequently can sustain work engagement. The paper discusses the implications of these findings for future research and management practice.

Profound changes have taken place in working life where the rapid development of information- and communication technologies (ICTs) has changed the way work is organized. Today, an increasing number of employees perform their work regardless of space and time. This flexible way of working has been associated with blurred boundaries between the work and nonwork domains, positive and negative effects on work-life balance, increased work autonomy and productivity, but also with longer working hours, work intensification, and increased stress. This chapter is based on in-depth interviews conducted between 2015 and 2016 with 20 public and private sector managers in Sweden. Reflexive thematic analysis was used to investigate perceptions on leadership in telework; and experiences of managers’ own and their employees’ management of the boundaries between work and nonwork. Authentic leadership enabled open communication based on trust with employees, and subsequent clear agreements regarding work assignments, as well as supported managers’ own and their employees’ preferences and needs for work-nonwork boundaries. Although this study was performed before the COVID-19 pandemic, its results are believed to contribute to the ongoing debate on working life in the “New Normal” during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

This final chapter speculates on the future of work and the place of remote working herein after the COVID-19 pandemic. The future of work pictured is based on the valuable insights gained from the respective chapters of this book, each of which considered different aspects of the organization and organizing of work, work relationships, and work and/or family outcomes, from different theoretical perspectives, in different national contexts, in different industries, before, during, and/or after the COVID-19 pandemic.