Employee Well-Being of Non-Academic Salaried Staff at Private Institutions of Higher Education Who Worked Remotely during the COVID-19 Pandemic

To address employee well-being and to attract and retain employees, some employers are exploring remote work options. The onset of COVID-19 forced many institutions of higher education to implement remote work for non-academic salaried staff. However, levels of employee well-being while working remotely have been little studied in this population of university employees. Thus, the purpose of this descriptive study was (1) to determine levels of employee well-being (job satisfaction, work-life balance, employee engagement, and employee burnout) in non-academic salaried staff at private Iowa colleges and universities who worked remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic and (2) to compare levels of employee well-being between non-academic salaried staff managers and nonmanagers. A convenience sample of 133 non-academic salaried staff at private institutions of higher education in Iowa completed an electronic survey that included measures of employee well-being, and manager status. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and the Mann-Whitney U nonparametric test. The results revealed the levels of employee well-being were at or better than published normative data for the measures. Additionally, there were no statistical differences found between managers and nonmanagers except for the employee burnout subscales of work-related burnout (U = 2583.50, p = 0.05) and personal burnout (U = 2553.00, p = 0.03). Along with support from prior scholarly research, the results will assist in implementing the innovative solution of a formal remote work policy and building a remote workplace culture for non-academic salaried staff at a private institution of higher education, as described in Chapter 5. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]