Examining Employee Engagement Amid a Crisis: Reactions to Mandatory Stay-at-Home Orders During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The goal of this study is to gain an understanding of employee' attitudes toward their managers and organizations during early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 after businesses transitioned to work from home (WFH). Ninety-two participants across the U.S. completed an online survey on personality, job demands (hindrances and challenges), and job resources (organizational, manager, and technology support and empowerment) and their impact on engagement, job performance, and intention to leave. Participants came from various size organizations, industries, and locations. Multiple regression shows that the primary predictors of engagement are conscientiousness, challenge stress, and empowerment (adjusted R-2 = .63). Regression analysis also reveals that hindrance stress and employee engagement are the strongest predictors of intention to leave, providing continued support for the pivotal role of engagement in retention (adjusted R-2 = .49). Content analysis of the biggest challenges and successes during the transition to WFH highlights the number of work-focused successes that resulted from the transition. This study provides insights into working U.S. adult's attitudes toward work during the earliest phase of the COVID-19 pandemic and the drastic transition to WFH. Compared with prior research on employee engagement, a slightly different pattern of predictors emerged suggesting that during a time of crisis employees were focused on the most critical work; for many, it was challenging but meaningful. They are most motivated when they are empowered to make decisions and get their work done when and how they can.