Care-based relationship management during remote work in a crisis: Empathy, purpose, and diversity climate as emergent employee-organization relational maintenance strategies

Hilke Steenkamp, Zayed University
Ganga S. Dhanesh, Zayed University

Document Type

Article

Source of Publication

Public Relations Review

Publication Date

11-1-2023

Abstract

This study examined the relational maintenance strategies employed by organizations to maintain relationships with employees over remote/hybrid work in a crisis. Thirteen in-depth elite interviews with heads of communication and human resources from organizations on various top employer lists were conducted. The seven main themes generated from the interviews were clustered into two sets of strategies. The first set consisted of strategies that are widely accepted in current relationship management theorizing in public relations, specifically access, assurances, positivity, and openness. The second set included three emergent strategies, namely, empathy, purpose, and diversity climate. Together, these strategies reflected the lived experiences of employers as they grappled with maintaining relationships with employees remotely while navigating uncertain and ambiguous environments. The findings of this study strengthen theorizing on care-based employee relationship management in the context of remote/hybrid work during crises.

ISSN

0363-8111

Publisher

Elsevier BV

Volume

49

Issue

4

Disciplines

Communication

Keywords

Care-based relationship management, Crisis, Employee relations, Employee-organization relationship (EOR), Relationship maintenance strategy, Relationship management, Remote work

Scopus ID

85168997436

Indexed in Scopus

yes

Open Access

no

Link to Full Text

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