Perception of Telework Models on Leadership Styles, Management Approaches, & Employee Engagement in a Tertiary-Level Patient Health-Care Facility

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated the abrupt, widespread transition to telework models of health-care delivery. The major problem is that it is unknown how telework service models of delivery within a tertiary-level health-care facility influences leadership styles, management approaches, and employee engagement. This qualitative phenomenological study sought to collect, analyze, and interpret data from leaders supervising employees in health care following the abrupt transition to teleworking. NVivo 12 Plus facilitated the thematic analysis of data collected from semistructured interviews. Five themes emerged from the data: (a) efforts to establish and lead in the context of the new reality, (b) significance of lived experiences, (c) importance of accountability systems, (d) communication with the team, and (e) significance of employees engaging with one another. Further studies may include employees who have experienced an abrupt transition to teleworking to determine the influence of race on employee engagement of teleworking professionals in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.