FACTBase Bulletin 76 - The Role of Leadership in Maintaining Employee Wellbeing and Performance under COVID 19 Restrictions June 2021

With all indications that the workplace will be both in the office and at home, our latest FACTBase Bulletin - The Role of Leadership in Maintaining Employee Wellbeing and Performance under COVID-19 Restrictions underlines the role of leadership and other organisational factors in maintaining employee wellbeing and performance, in particular for those working remotely from the office.

This bulletin is the seventh and final piece of FACTBase research to be delivered under the Committee’s 2020-2021 major project the Future of Work: Equipping WA and its People for the Changing World of Work.

Key Findings

• 1. Organisations must develop an outcomes and trust-based culture where working from home (WFH) employees are empowered and given high levels of autonomy, thereby creating positive psychosocial safety.
• 2. A one-size-fits-all approach to flexible working does not work as different demographic cohorts, such as women, those with carer responsibilities or those with a disability, experience wellbeing in different ways when WFH.
• 3. Top leaders should prioritise the psychological safety of employees and communicate their commitment and support for the wellbeing of all workers.
• 4. The key to ensure the effective planning and implementation of multi-level change towards new ways of working will include the development of structures; policy; practice; technology (inputs/outputs); and culture.