Working from home in the pandemic: Feelings and experiences of managers and non-public managers

Abstract

The aim of this study was to compare and discuss perceptions of public service managers and non-managers, with and without experience working remotely, in regards to the compulsory remote work adopted in response to the covid-19 pandemic. A total of 1,749 workers participated (26% managers), 52% of them with remote work experience. Data were collected during the first months of the pandemic (April to June 2020), based on an open question about their feelings about working remotely. We applied descending hierarchical classification on the Iramuteq software. Differences were found in the perceptions about working remotely among those with remote work experience and those with no experience, as well as differences in the perceptions of non-managers and managers who, in addition, were concerned about their teams. The discussion has implications for the public service and points to the need for further studies.