Overall Job Performance, Remote Work Engagement, Living With Children, and Remote Work Productivity During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Abstract. The COVID-19 pandemic caused a significant and rapid shift from work in presence to remote work (RW). This rapid change represented a challenge for employees, who had to deal with new work procedures in houses often crowded with their children. This study investigated whether the engagement toward this work arrangement mediates the relationship between perceived overall job performance and employees’ remote work productivity. Furthermore, it tested whether the relationships between perceived overall job performance and RW productivity as well as between RW engagement and RW productivity are moderated by living with children under 18. This quantitative, cross-sectional, study was conducted in an Italian municipality and involved a sample of employees who started to work remotely after the spread of the pandemic. A total of 171 public servants answered an online questionnaire. Regression analysis showed a significant relationship between perceived overall job performance and RW productivity and the mediation of this relationship by RW engagement. The moderation role of living with minor children was confirmed, although this modulation mechanism had two opposite effects on the tested relationships. On the whole, the results suggest that HR professionals and organizations need to develop support policies that take into account employees’ specific characteristics.