Remote worker communication during COVID-19: The role of quantity, quality, and supervisor expectation-setting

Area of Science:

• Organizational Psychology
• Remote Work Studies
• Communication in the Workplace

Background:

• The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the shift to remote work, increasing the need to understand its impact on employee performance and wellbeing.
• While communication is recognized as vital for remote work success, its specific role in performance and burnout remains under-researched.
• Existing research often overlooks the nuances of communication variables in remote work contexts.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the associations between communication frequency, quality, and supervisor expectations with daily job performance and burnout among remote employees.
• To examine the moderating role of task interdependence on the relationship between communication variables and work outcomes.
• To provide evidence-based recommendations for optimizing remote work environments.

Main Methods:

• An experience sampling design was employed over a 4-week period.
• Data were collected from 471 employees who transitioned to full-time remote work due to COVID-19.
• Statistical analyses examined the relationships between communication variables, task interdependence, performance, and burnout.

Main Results:

• Daily communication quality significantly predicted daily performance and burnout.
• Supervisor-set communication expectations were positively associated with performance but not burnout.
• Task interdependence moderated the effects of communication quality and supervisor expectations on performance.

Conclusions:

• Communication quality and clear supervisor expectations are crucial for enhancing remote employee performance and mitigating burnout.
• The impact of communication strategies on performance is contingent upon the level of task interdependence.
• Future research should continue to explore communication dynamics in remote work settings to inform best practices.