Enforced remote work during COVID-19 and the importance of technological competency: A job demands-resources perspective

Abstract

Background

As we live in the era of technology, it is clear that employees’ technical skills and savviness are important to their work performance. With the COVID-19 pandemic, these qualities have become a “necessity” for many employees as they have switched to remote working. Less attention, however, has been given to empirical evidence regarding how employees’ technological competencies influence their work outcomes during a forced shift to remote work. Integrating the theories of Job Demands-Resources and Conservation of Resources, this study sought to provide evidence regarding the joint effect of job/personal resources and technological competency on levels of employees’ remote work engagement and performance.

Method

A total of 131 teachers working in Turkey completed an online survey during the initial months of the COVID-19 pandemic. SPSS Process Macro (Model 7) was used for hypotheses testing.

Results

We found partial support for the proposed moderated mediation model. Specifically, psychological resilience (as a personal resource) increased the level of work performance through work engagement and this relationship was stronger among employees with high levels of technological competency. However, the results did not provide support for the hypothesized interaction effect of workplace support (as a job resource) and technological competency on work performance through work engagement.

Conclusion

This research advances the theoretical and empirical understanding of the role of technological competency in the motivational process of the Job Demands-Resources model. Our findings suggest that providing training activities aimed at promoting employee learning in the domain of online work tools can accelerate the effect of personal resources on work outcomes, especially during enforced remote working, as in the case of COVID-19.