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

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.