The COVID-19 pandemic forced a radical transition to work from home. Recent studies have focused on the individual employee’s cognitive, physical, and mental resources, lacking the interactions between human, technology, and organization (HTO), and teams handling of the radical transition. This study explored the sensemaking processes of the narratives of teams’ radical transitions to work from home. Chronicle workshops with seven teams and 13 semi-structured interviews with managers were thematically analysed in narratives and through HTO interactions. The narratives showed how crisis boosted development of efficient human - technology interactions and increased possibilities for individuals’ work-life balance and flexibility. Organizational priorities and strategies were not adapted in time to support sensemaking processes of the teams. Thus, the study indicates that interactions between human and organization could have been accelerated during COVID-19 to support sensemaking and development of remote leadership practices for a sustainable post-pandemic work-life.
Funding:AFA Försäkring 200364