Employer-employee work at home relationship : shall we dance?

Abstract

The sustainability of the relationship between online employers and remote employees depends on ongoing trust and security (Mackenzie, 2010; Peters, Den Dulk, & De Ruijter, 2010; Wojcak, Bajzikova, Sajgalikova, & Polakova, 2016). Establishing and maintaining this trust involves a mechanism by which both parties operate in synchronous action (Kowalski & Swanson, 2005; Markham, Yammarino, Murry, & Palanski, 2010), much like when two partners dance. Trust and security in this relational mechanism may fail at times, and when this happens, the dance is over; or is it? As discovered in the study by De Clercq, Haq, Azeem, & Raja (2018), willpower may be the factor that keeps this dance in step. This research builds upon two theories, the social exchange theory and organizational support theory, to develop factors exploring the impact willpower may have on the continuance of allowing personnel to work at home. Investigating the antecedent attitudes of online employers and the relationship between absenteeism, communication, and collaboration to the moderator situational willpower along with its effect on long-term employee retention is discussed in Essay 1. Essay 2 studies the relationship between antecedent attitudes of remote employees, emotional exhaustion, isolation, and perceived organizational support to the moderator situational willpower and its effect on long-term job retention. The data for both studies were collected using a mixed method providing a 360-degree perspective. Using a combination of surveys, interviews, and netnography allows for greater insight into the attitudes leading to actions and the relationship mechanism by which this remote working dance takes place between the online employer and the remote employee. The results from the combined study will provide insight into the aspects of the remote working relationship, which may foster the dance between online employers and remote employees.