Navigating the change: exploring emotions, psychological safety and organizational support in the transition to home working – insights from the MENA region

Abstract

Purpose This study aims to explore emotions, psychological safety and organizational support in the workplace when transitioning from office to home-based work. By providing detailed descriptions of emotional reactions to this change, the study examines how organizational support might influence employees’ sense of psychological safety. Design/methodology/approach To analyze the data, a qualitative data analysis was applied through using thematic coding. Data were collected by conducting structured telephone interviews with participants. These interviews included open-ended questions. Employees from both public and private companies in the MENA region were invited to take part in the study. The participants included full-time, part-time and contractual employees from different industries. In total, 112 participants were included in the final sample. Findings The results indicate that when workplaces change, emotions are triggered by comparing oneself to others and having the necessary socioemotional resources. Employees’ emotional reactions are influenced by how they perceive organizational support, which affects their psychological safety. Specifically, comparing to colleagues in lower positions activates emotions like pride, empathy and support (downward social comparison emotion), while comparing to top management decisions elicits emotions like anxiety, stress, unfairness, inferiority and vulnerability (upward social comparison emotion). Originality/value The findings of this research shed light on how emotions arise from social comparison when workplaces undergo changes as well as the different socioemotional resources present within groups. Not much research has focused on core and periphery groups in this context. This study helps fill that gap in our understanding.