The role of leadership in the working environment during the era of Covid-19, and the effects of a supportive organization in the individual's every-day life

Abstract

Could a supportive leadership; an effective relationship between the employee and the supervisor; a supportive organization, and the potential of teleworking, create better balance between work and personal life and reduce burnout symptoms? The aim of the study was to reveal that the presence of a servant leader, will foster better work-life balance on the individual, yielding in a positive association in testing between the two. In addition, whether individuals’ perceptions over supervisors’ and organizations’ support would have a mediating effect on the above association, was explored. Further, teleworking as a moderating variable between servant leadership and burnout, and between servant leadership and work-life balance, was explored, suggesting that when in teleworking, employees may show reduced symptoms of job burnout and maintain better work-life balance. The research questions were investigated through measuring employee perceptions of organizational settings at the private and public sectors. Findings related to servant leadership, work-life balance and burnout; perceived organizational support and burnout, and teleworking activities and work-life balance, were in line with the initial hypothesis. However, results revealed non-significant associations between perceived organizational support and work-life balance, and between teleworking and burnout. The results of this research could add to further investigations of the link between servant leadership, teleworking, POS, PSS, work-life balance and burnout.