ABSTRACT
The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has affected employees across Malaysia to work remotely and in isolation. This crisis has particularly affected employee motivation, which is an important factor in maintaining work performance. The objectives of this study were to investigate the level of employee motivation in the remote working environment in the construction industry during the pandemic crisis, identify the effects of task-oriented and relation-oriented leadership behaviour in motivating employees during the pandemic crisis and determine the moderating role of digital readiness for the relationship between leadership behaviour and employee motivation. A questionnaire survey to 185 respondents was utilised in the data collection exercise. Various statistical analyses were done by using the statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS) software. The findings indicated that task-oriented and relation-oriented leadership behaviour was acquired to maintain employee motivation in a remote working environment during crises. Furthermore, the study confirmed that relation-oriented leadership behaviour influenced employee motivation more than task-oriented behaviour. The employee digital readiness was found to have an insignificant moderating effect between leadership behaviour and employee motivation. The study would contribute to the body of knowledge as there is limited literature on leadership and virtual work regarding leadership behaviour effectiveness and its impact on employee motivation during a pandemic. © 2022, Construction Research Institute of Malaysia. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Malaysian government took precautionary action to minimise the spread of the coronavirus with the implementation of the Movement Control Order. This move led to employees in non-essential sectors, including the construction sector, being required to work from home. This study aims to investigate the challenges of working from home and the mitigation actions to overcome the challenges from the perspective of quantity surveyors. A questionnaire survey was used for the data collection exercise. The responses of 360 participants were recorded and analysed. The data collected were analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software using the frequencies, percentage and mean analysis. Cronbach’s alpha was used to measure the reliability of the questionnaire survey. The study found 11 working-from-home challenges from a quantity surveyors’ perspective, with overworking as the main challenge. Furthermore, 10 mitigation actions to overcome the challenges were discovered. Creating a dedicated workspace ranked first on the list. This study could provide insights into identifying the challenges and the mitigation actions to overcome said challenges. It would be beneficial for relevant stakeholders to look into these concerns and acknowledge them accordingly. This is also in line with the Sustainable Development Goal 8, which promotes a sustainable future for all, inclusive of economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work. © Penerbit UMT