Exhausted by social distancing at work: understanding the effects of COVID-19 pandemic in workgroups

Purpose: In the new post-COVID-19 work order, this study aims to examine whether and how individual-level social distancing interacts with workgroup-level socio-affective support to influence employee exhaustion and performance. Design/methodology/approach: Multi-level analyses of time-lagged multi-source data from 231 employees nested in 34 workgroups were conducted to test our hypothesized relationships. Findings: Analyses revealed a significant relationship between social distancing and employee performance via emotional exhaustion. Further, the positive relationship between social distancing and emotional exhaustion was attenuated by workgroup team orientation and support for innovation, and the indirect effect of social distancing on employee performance was weaker in workgroups with a high team orientation and high support for innovation. Originality/value: This study extends the job demands-resources theory to the new work order and examines the impact of workplace social distancing on employee outcomes in the context of workgroup membership.