Changes in belongingness, meaningful work, and emotional exhaustion among new high-intensity telecommuters: Insights from pandemic remote workers

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has thrust millions of workers into high-intensity telecommuting. While much research has examined the first months of the pandemic, little is known about how workers have responded to this new work arrangement over time. The stressor-reaction perspective suggests that any strain related to the physical separation from coworkers may persist as long as the stressor is present, while the adaptation perspective implies that individuals adopt new behaviours that help them adjust once the initial shock is over. This research examines the changes in work belongingness, meaningful work, and emotional exhaustion following a shift to high-intensity telecommuting, between September 2020 and March 2021. We conducted a four-wave study among an organizational sample of 716 workers who transitioned to high-intensity telecommuting during the pandemic. Latent growth modelling analyses showed that new high-intensity telecommuters experienced declines in work belongingness over time, which in turn led to decreased perceptions that their work was meaningful and increased emotional exhaustion, supporting the stress-reaction perspective. Contrary to theoretical predictions, trajectories were worse for those with a higher initial affective commitment to coworkers. We discuss how our findings can inform scholars and practitioners about the unfolding consequences of a collective shift to high-intensity telecommuting.