Does my boss’s boss matter? Examining the effects of teleworking and manager quality on employee job satisfaction during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

PurposeThis study explicitly explores the moderating role of management quality, at multiple organizational levels, in the relationship between telework and job satisfaction.Design/methodology/approachThis study employs fixed effects regression with clustered robust standard errors at the departmental level to account for the multilevel nature of the data.FindingsThe results of fixed effects analyses suggest that when the quality of one's direct supervisor and the quality of their supervisor's manager is high, the relationship between job satisfaction and telework frequency becomes stronger and positive.Originality/valueThis research illuminates the crucial moderating role of management quality at multiple organizational levels in the relationship between telework and employee job satisfaction during an unprecedented workforce shock.