The impact of remote work on employee engagement: a case study of public sector employees in the Czech Republic

Abstract

During the covid-19 pandemic, many civil servants in the Czech Republic engaged in remote work. Detailed information regarding the influence of remote work on engagement is restricted. The main goal is to determine levels of work engagement among civil servants and compare this before the pandemic and now (May 2022). Engagement and factors associated with remote work and changes in organizational culture were examined among 984 civil servants. Data were collected using the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale-9 questionnaire. The Pearson correlation revealed the magnitude and direction of the relationship between the pre-pandemic engagement and current engagement. The paired t-test verified if engagement increased in the covid-19 pandemic. The independent t-test verified if engagement differs significantly between women and men. The one-way ANOVA was used to reveal if remote work reduces engagement significantly and checked engagement between respondents in different age categories. The findings indicate that remote work holds significance and the challenging time of the covid-19 pandemic does not necessarily mean a drop in employee engagement. The practical suggestion derived from this study for employers in the civil service sector in the Czech Republic, in the event of a similar future situation, is to adopt a hybrid model that preserves employee engagement without compromising it.