Exhausted by social distancing at work: understanding the effects of COVID-19 pandemic in workgroups
ISSN: 0048-3486
Article publication date: 7 June 2022
Issue publication date: 2 June 2023
Abstract
Purpose
In the new post-COVID-19 work order, this study aims to examine whether and how individual-level social distancing interacts with workgroup-level socio-affective support to influence employee exhaustion and performance.
Design/methodology/approach
Multi-level analyses of time-lagged multi-source data from 231 employees nested in 34 workgroups were conducted to test our hypothesized relationships.
Findings
Analyses revealed a significant relationship between social distancing and employee performance via emotional exhaustion. Further, the positive relationship between social distancing and emotional exhaustion was attenuated by workgroup team orientation and support for innovation, and the indirect effect of social distancing on employee performance was weaker in workgroups with a high team orientation and high support for innovation.
Originality/value
This study extends the job demands-resources theory to the new work order and examines the impact of workplace social distancing on employee outcomes in the context of workgroup membership.
Keywords
Citation
Jahantab, F., Anand, S. and Vidyarthi, P.R. (2023), "Exhausted by social distancing at work: understanding the effects of COVID-19 pandemic in workgroups", Personnel Review, Vol. 52 No. 5, pp. 1478-1498. https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-08-2021-0585
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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