The Effect of Emotion, Psychological Safety and Organisation Support on Workplace Practices during the COVID-19 Pandemic – Evidence from Lebanon

Abstract

The aim of the study was to look into psychological safety, organizational support, and emotion in the workplace during the COVID-19 pandemic crises' transition from office to home working. The research was carried out in Lebanon. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, most Lebanese employers, from government agencies to private businesses, have embraced work-from-home policies for the majority of their employees. The data was collected through a telephone structured interview that includes open-ended questions. Salaried employees from both public and private companies were invited to participate in this study. Respondents are full-time, part-time, and contractual employees from a variety of industries. A total of 112 respondents were included in the final sample size. During the shift from office to work from home context, a qualitative data analysis was applied, through using the thematic coding, to acquire a better understanding of the workers' emotional reactions, including their personal experiences of organizational support and psychological safety. Results showed that emotion results from social comparison emotion and essential socio-emotional resources (task, flexibility, communication, health and safety, and social support) through thematic coding. Employees' emotional reactions were generated from their perceptions of organizational support, as well as how the organization cares for their well-being and contributions to the workplace, all of which influence psychological safety.