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Managers and telework in public sector organizations during a crisis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 January 2022

Ed Dandalt Open the ORCID record for Ed Dandalt [Opens in a new window]
Ed Dandalt*
Affiliation:
Rutgers University, Samuel DeWitt Proctor Institute, 10 Seminary Place, New Brunswick, NJ 08901-1183, USA
*
Corresponding author: E-mail: ed.dandalt@gmail.com
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Abstract

Through the use of a narrative-interview approach and contingency theory as research methods, this study explores the teleworking behaviors of N = 41 public managers when remotely managing and leading their organizations as virtual bureaucracies during the Covid-19 lockdown. Its findings suggest that their role set was underscored by communal and supervisory tasks. Managers were confronted with environmental challenges of emotional nature (e.g., anxieties). But they also associated teleworking with improving their work-life balance and staffing work process. Simply put, teleworking was perceived with having both positive and negative organizational outcomes. Drawing from the implications of these findings, this study proposes recommendations for future research.

Keywords

Crisismanagerspublic organizationstelework
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Management & Organization , Volume 27 , Special Issue 6: Physical and virtual work environments during COVID-19 , November 2021 , pp. 1169 - 1182
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press and Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management 2022

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