Introduction

Coronavirus was first started in December 2019 in China in the Wuhan city, which has turned the entire world into a global crisis. It has put everything like health, wealth, job and human at a great risk. Due to this big destruction, there is a collapse in human and human activities, which are never compensated and even if compensated cannot give the desired value. In other words, it can be called as an irreparable loss in terms of losing lives of millions of people across the world. The pandemic caused massive destruction in the countries, resulting in high unemployment. The growth and development had showed a decline and reduced the work of producing, financing and making money, which resulted in huge financial crisis. It was not a particular sector or department which is affected even a very common man; a layman on the road also got effected with this drastic pandemic. Due to this Covid-19 pandemic, most of the countries are in lockdown and there was all-time mask wearing, no physical activity, social distancing, isolation, work from home, sanitisation and quarantine kind of protocols followed in the era of Covid-19, which had reduced almost all activities like participation, involvement, coordination, collaboration, organisation and engagement and put the companies to zero, where it continuously demands all these.

The present study laid an emphasis on the managerial concepts of the companies and their existence in this tedious situation of coronavirus. Covid-19 has ruined the companies and made them work by hook and crook without giving anything. The study contributed to the knowledge base in the allied areas of Human Resource Management (HRM), Organisation Theory and according to Bandura (1977), Practice and Organisational Behaviour because Employee Engagement as an area of study has been gaining vast and critical importance in the contemporary organisational environment ranging from the management of business enterprises to government administration. Whether it is a functional area of a business enterprise or a department in the company’s administrative setup the productivity largely depends on the level of engagement that its employees exhibit in due course of their discharge of duties (Bakker et al., 2007). Studies undertaken on employee engagement in various enterprises and industries are large in number; however, studies pertaining to employee engagement in the domain of HRM and its application on employee work-from-home practice are rare. According to Chandani et al. (2016), the level of employee engagement in a business enterprise specifically affects the productivity, efficiency and effectiveness of the respective enterprise, but the level of employee engagement in the various hierarchies and departments of companies affects the wide gamut of stakeholders who come under the ambit of the top level of people. Hence, the proposed study gains much impetus with attention on the effect of concepts and tools of HRM, on the functioning of employees in the Covid-19 era (Patro, 2013). In this tough moment of pandemic, it has become difficult for employees to carry out work and bring results and to stay dedicated, committed, fulfilled and motivated in the business. Covid-19 has made the companies less operative, and to cope with that, the organisations have come up with the measure like work-from-home regime, flexible work schedules, shifts in the work, work balances, setting standards, balance of pay, mother and child care, baby settings and professional and personal growth (Chang et al., 2011). Among all, work from home in this Covid-19 is taken as the purpose of this study. The pandemic had given a disaster to not only organisations but also to the employees to get engaged and involved in the work and work roles, Particularly, employees who have satisfaction with their organisations are supplementary expected to be involved in their job as time passes by means of skills, talents and attitudes and employees who are engaged are strengthened by using the most of their existing resources to acquire new resources (Fetzner et al., 2014).

Theoretical Concepts of Employee Engagement

According to Ho Kim et al. (2017), company environment is the most important constraint that influences the employee engagement, which in turn influences the organisational performance. The main objective of this work is to examine the effect of Covid-19 on employee engagement in the phase of work from home during the lockdown. This finding can be useful to companies and their managers who are working under different sectors when attempting to realise the influence of organisational environment on employee engagement and finally on organisational performance (Kompaso & Sridevi, 2010).

Employee engagement is the emotional, physical and cognitive promise of the employees towards the organisation (Kahn, 1990). It is also a behavioural and intellectual commitment. It is a connection between employees and companies. Adequate tools to perform work responsibilities and motivation also contribute to increasing employee engagement according to Albrecht (2012). Employee engagement is very important in today’s highly competitive and dynamic business world (Llorens et al., 2007). Engaged employees perform the difficult, stay for a longer time in their job, committed and connected in the company’s bottom line. It is a vast asset for the organisation and employees contribute their loyal efforts for the benefit of the organisation (Bakker & Demerouti, 2008).

In the present era of Covid-19 and global business environment, the organisation tries hard to develop a good and efficient engaged employee and team employee engagement is related to several outcomes like market share, competitive advantage, profitability, higher productivity, customer satisfaction and innovation kind of outcomes (Saks, 2006). But due to this pandemic, there is no proper organisational thing, which is leading to outcomes like challenges to turnover, low productivity, conflicts and low motivation. So, it has become must to enhance engagement and involvement of the employees even in work from home during the lockdown. In this context, the very important and alarming point is what are the needs and wants (expectations) of the employee and what the organisation is delivering. In order to develop and grow the organisation and its performance, the businesses should focus on a committed, motivated, satisfied and engaged workforce (Schaufeli, 2018). It has become a very crucial and complex concern in this global crisis of Covid-19.

The above question is probably addressed by making the employee committed and connected. The focus should be on how employees are physically cognitive and expressively committed to the business and greatly mingled in their work on role with abundant zeal, energy, pride and performance. In addition, focus on the meaningfulness, safety and availability of psychological conditions had a progressive result on engagement according to Rothmann (2013). Figure 1 shows various factors of employee engagement (Tampubolon, 2016), which may be targeted by the organisations to ensure the engagement of their employees.

Figure 1. Factors of Employee Engagement.

Source: Developed by the researchers.

Literature Review of Employee Engagement

The past reviews and research work on employee engagement had provided a clear insight into the area of the study. The following reviews are taken from the numerous works of various researchers whose summary is given below.

According to Kahn (1990), employee engagement is defined as investing oneself into the work or job roles in the organisation and also expressing oneself physically, cognitively and emotionally during the job. Buckingham and Coffman in 1999 wrote the book ‘First Break all the Rules’, which has created awareness regarding the concept of engagement in employees in the corporate environment. Several explanations declare employee engagement is rather helpful in achieving the organisational objectives (Joshi & Sodhi, 2011), whereas others assert that it is something that the individual carries to the workroom (Harter et al., 2002; Goddard, 1999).

Marcie Pitt-Catsouphes and Christina Matz-Costa (2009) presented a work called The Age & Generations Study by the Sloan Centre on Aging & Work at Boston College in 2007 and 2008. The centre accompanied with nine U.S. workrooms is designed for this learning. The study stressed that age is a key feature meant for powerful worker engagement. Another study proposed a work on examination of facts composed after 2,400 employees and 240 HR (human resource) executives from 26 organisations through a novel measurement instrument—The Accenture Human Capital Development Framework, which discovered that establishments with the greatest promised personnel have constructed an environment that nurtures inspiration, obligation and desire for exertion (Pandita & Ray, 2018). According to Tom Newcombe’s (2013) article meetings about a research published by software provider Midland HR comprising 94 HR directors from higher education institutions in the UK, the overwhelming majority of respondents (82%) reported that motivation and engagement had improved in prominence completed the past five years.

Employee Engagement and Organisational Performance

Bakker and Demerouti (2008) revealed in Article 4 particulars why engaged workforce performs better than non-engaged workers. Engaged employees: first, always consist of positive feelings like joy, happiness, pleasure and enthusiasm; second, realisation of better psychological and physical health; third, generate their personal work and own possessions (e.g., support from others); and finally, handover their commitment to others. Bakker et al. (2004) highlighted that workers who are engaged obtain an advanced rankings after their co-workers in-role and extra-role performance, signifying that involved employees accomplish fine and are enthusiastic to accomplish improved. Numerous writings clue to the inference that in accumulation of business assets, personal possessions to abstain a foremost atmosphere to produce a significant level of work engagement. Schaufeli et al. (2006) study focused among female school principals and originated that individual with maximum personal resources counted maximum on effort engagement. According to Welbourne (2007), the mere system to expand worker engagement through various organisations is to recognise the kind of behaviours are needed not just approaches and attitudes. The role-based presentation supports in ascertaining the kinds of performances required from employees to initiate improved enactment van den (Ahmed et al., 2020).

de Waal and Pienaar (2013) found that promised personal assistants recorded greater in-role and extra-role routines and obligated extra stimulus on day-to-day occupational.

Schaufeli et al. (2006) piloted evidence on the concept of engagement and performance among 105 school principals and 232 teachers. Their work displayed important and optimistic relations amid school principals’ work engagement scores and teacher ratings of school principals’ performance and leadership (Vermooten et al., 2020). In addition, engagement was strongly related to creativity; the higher school principals’ levels of work engagement, the improved they were capable to arise with a range of conducts to compact with job-related difficulties. Xanthopoulou et al. (2007) made a convincing event of the analytical worth of work engagement for routine, on a daily basis scheduled study among Greek employees working in a fast-food restaurant. Daily job earnings, like manager preparation and work atmosphere conditioned to employees’ personal resources (day-levels of optimism, self-efficacy and self-esteem), which, in turn, explained daily engagement (Widyawati, 2020). Importantly, this study clearly showed that engaged employees perform better on a daily basis.

Benefits of Employee Engagement

This study is putting forward the various benefits of engaging employees by applying the discussed strategies to develop the organisations and the employees and to become result driven and meet the current needs and demands of the market and the environment. Reviews and other publications viz. Saks (2006, 2017) and Bakker and Schaufeli (2008) had proved that employee engagement will definitely bring positive and great benefits to the companies and the employees as well. Studies of Kumar and Pansari (2016), Gretz and Jacobson (2018) and Geue (2018) show there are large-scale and huge paybacks of employee engagement. Implementing the techniques and tools of engagement has not alone promoted different sectors across the globe but also different departments in the organisations like planned business management, tactical facility management, working and decision-making management, logistics administration, research and development management and people management. The overall gap that exists between the employee and the organization has to be fulfilled in order to perform better and again increment and satisfaction confirmed from the studies of Meyer (2017). Figure 2 depicts the benefits of employee engagement related to the various aspects of organisational management.

Figure 2. Benefits of Employee Engagement.

Source: Developed by the researcher.

Outcomes of Employee Engagement

The study had also concentrated on the possible outcomes of engagement in employees that have been found from the past research studies. It also laid an emphasis on how employee engagement is significant in achieving organisational objectives effectively and efficiently. From the review, it is clear that the organisations should induce the engagement in the employees and provide the employees the means and ways to get engaged in the work and work role. Getting involved into the activities of organisation will not only benefit the company and its procedures but also the employees at the personal and professional level. Reviews of Shahid (2019) found few drivers of employee engagement like free rewards, pay management, satisfaction, counselling, monitoring and mentoring, which increased employee engagement to the large level and gave rise to many outcomes. Reviews from research firm such as Gallup, Towers Perrin, Blessing White and The Corporate Leadership Council mentioned a few factors like trust and integrity, career growth opportunity, relationship with manager and produced outcomes like employee development, employee integrity, According to reviews of Gruman and Saks (2011), the importance on the concept of changing the jobs frequently, focusing more on short run benefits rather than long run and becoming stagnant in staying one particular job which is never upbringing and growing. The basic idea that lies here is the importance of employee engagement by means of which the employee can stay longer sometimes their whole life in one particular organisation and relish the benefits of engagement like higher pay, reward and recognition, career growth and opportunities, expectation and demands fulfilment and future and family status. Reviews from the Gemma Robertson-Smith and Carl Markwick, Report 469, Delloit University Press conducted a research titled ‘Becoming Irresistible: A New Model for Employee Engagement’ by Josh Bersin (2015) have focused on implementing the strategies of employee engagement as an individualistic approach, concentrating on few things like transparency in vision, making work more meaningful, career growth opportunities in bringing out few outcomes like employee development and growth, relationship with colleagues and supervisors, peer reviews and feedback, suggestions and information.

According to Kahn (1990), Harter and Bakman employee engagement is emotional, physical and cognitive, commitment behavioural and intellectual commitment, which emphasises the human and personal resources aspect of the engagement and gives the personal outcomes like self-efficacy and organisational-based self-esteem. Optimism, resilience, value creation, worth analysis, confidence, intellectual ability and intelligence. According to Yadav (2020), right employees appointed at the correct period at true place with accurate talent is completely involved with obligation and perseverance along with unrestricted determination to achieve desired goals and values with outcomes like employee dedication, commitment, involvement, participation and satisfaction.

According to Schaufeli (2018) psychological and sociological factors will improve employee well-being and forms organisational bases to employees at work. These psychological and sociological factors if managed well will very soon turn into financial benefits and financial return to the companies. Reviews of Saks (2006) and Rana et al. (2014) state that if the employees are engaged in the organisation, they invest themselves fully in the organisation which leads to higher employee occupation presentation, willingness to be with the organisation, organisational citizenship behaviour with. Studies by Robertson-Smith and Marwick (2009) found that employee engagement gives rise to organisational alertness, better-quality, productivity and finally profitability, shareholder or investor worth. This study focused more on financial aspects of the organisation. In addition, additional investigations from Garrad and Chamorro-Premuzic (2016) had found that developed heights of engagement consume a progressive impression on employee comfort, concert, and retaining and involved elements incline to direct better performance in relation to incomes and earnings, better facility excellence and advanced customer assessments. Figure 3 shows the expected outcomes of employee engagement.

Figure 3. Outcomes of Employee Engagement.

Source: Adapted from the work of Paul Turner (2020).

Covid-19

A disease that affects the respiratory system of human has appeared in the city of Wuhan, China. The laboratory study has recommended that the virus remained linked to a seafood marketplace in the city. From Wuhan, it has spread to the entire globe affecting 5,934,936 cases globally with at least 360 thousand demises according to reports of WHO as of May 31, 2020 (Wu & McGoogan, 2020). Looking at the speed with which it was spreading almost entire world went into lockdown closing their borders for outsiders to avoid further spread of the virus (World Health Organization, 2020a). The Covid-19 pandemic and its life-threatening issues created the urgency for new working styles and modes of working, especially social, emotional and advanced cognitive abilities. In total, 58% of respondents from the current worldwide review found out that ending skill breaks converted a basic significance from the time when the pandemic commenced (World Health Organization, 2020b). Organisations must opt for a wide-ranging catalogue of abilities through their corporations, develop creative platforms for continuing knowledge and construct culture environments over collaboration by means of business societies and professional. Business at large is facing a lot of difficulties and massive challenges in the area of demand and supply of skills and quality work. The same problem is with modifications in response, quantity, resources, carriage and movement in addition to wage earner security. Both sides, the workforce as well as the regulars, is facing damages and down falling.

Effects of Covid-19 on Employee Engagement and Organisational Performance

This scary pandemic had raised an alarming job crisis in India at a difficult demographic time. India wants to create approximately 10 million occupations each year to engross individuals affected by the Covid pandemic and also those who are already jobless (World Health Organization, 2020c). Coronavirus produced distress and changed the process of the claim and stock chain crosswise the country, and there are extreme disturbances in different sectors like the vacation industry, unfriendliness and flight amid the poorest exaggerated segments, which are fronting the extreme influence of the existing catastrophe. The closure of cinemas, multiplexes and supermarket-run facilities has exaggerated the merchandising zone by distressing the usage of together important and compulsory stuffs. It has become very difficult to find excellence effort and staff. At this peak period when all the vendors and facility earners are concluding personnel, engagement is at great danger. Some segments like industrialists, mobility, medicines, microchip technology, biochemical merchandises, etc., have been obstructed large. Globally, around 136 million non-agricultural occupations stand on instant menace, assessments on National Sample Survey and Periodic Labour Force Surveys. There stay few transactions that involve no on-paper agreement and contain spontaneous earners and some people who work in non-approved nano trades, enumerated minor corporations and also the entrepreneurial, as Covid-19 has appeared such companies and public are completely jobless. While the daily-wage earners are taking charge of the load in the initial stage of reductions, establishment’s crosswise skills could pink-slip employees on short-range conventions following.

As the Covid-19 pandemic is captivating a peal in the world money, nearly 36% of the organisations are tranquil and worried almost on forthcoming redundancies, removals, economising owing to the randomness occurred in means of Covid-19. Weirdly the personnel of China, one of the slightest exaggerated nations by the pandemic, have emphasised professional disaster and exertion loss as the biggest fear with a total of 44 out of 100 personnel in the nation persisting terrible forthcoming employment harm. Likewise, 41% of employees in Mexico, 40% in Canada and 37% in the United States take articulated distresses and went in ensuring job safekeeping and safety. The survey titled ‘Hindsight 2020: Covid-19 Concerns into 2021’ was conducted by the Workforce Institute at UKG.

In the direction to preserve the workforce on occupation and to evade monetary losses for the businesses, the administrations devise to sustain the employees and keep them engaged and satisfied by working on personal resources in this situation of working from home. It is an exclusively contradictory concept that the degree of burden is less while working from home than working in office in fact it is equal. The survey shows that 43% of employees have protested around exhausted and hurt out as a worry in together ways of working. In view of the public health disaster, nations have started a lockdown in mandate to control the movement of public for stopping the feast of this highly infectious respiratory disease. Nevertheless, these conditions had changed daily actions, organisations’ procedures and stock restraints. Due to Covid-19 pandemic and nationwide lockdown for a very long period in months together in all over world, there was a phase of no transportation, no social gathering, no direct panel discussion, no red-face teamwork, isolation, quarantine and social distancing there is a lot of change in the mode of work, work style and job association of the employees. This disease condition has enlarged the likelihood and requirements of many workers to work from home with an increase in number of working hours, timely promises and enduring stress which had run to numerous well-known and unidentified psychological healthiness difficulties. Nowadays employees are fronting novel experiments, power atmosphere and dissimilar sets of life actions likened to the pre-Covid-19 period. Therefore, this study will help policy maker, researcher, corporate sectors, and public and private sectors for comprehending and study the effect of personal resources on organisation engagement. As the infection spreads very rapidly, many regions have started closures and shutdowns and work from home. However, the possibility of a recurrence of Covid-19 has made it mandatory for personnel and establishments to adapt to the new routine or regime.

Covid-19 has generated an atmosphere of ambiguity among individuals and positioned an important load on their inner possessions to meet by means of the resulting encounters. Even companies with good outcomes got affected by the lockdown, and industries started bleeding in view of the Covid crisis. Thus, for all industries to survive, Employee Engagement has developed as a necessary tool for corporate continuity and reclamation. As a positive personal resource enables employees to divert from a traumatic workstation and unpredictable and dreadful occasions like the Covid-19 pandemic. Figure 4 explains that before Covid-19 employee engagement used to be high and that led to better organisational performance but during Covid-19 because of work-from-home practices proper engagement could not be ensured and that affected the organisational performance as well.

Figure 4. Effect of Covid-19 on Employee Engagement and Organisational Performance.

Source: Developed by the researcher.

The above framework states that before the coronavirus employee and company performance was desired and up to the mark as employees is engaged and involved in different activities of job. Therefore, there is an increase in the organisational performance as the employees engaged to the fullest. However, in the times of corona pandemic, companies and employees came to a standstill because of the adverse effects of the pandemic. Hence, there is a decrease in organizational performance due to a decrease in employee engagement. In connection to this, the studies of Blustein and Guarino (2020) detailed that Covid-19 induced enormous joblessness worldwide.

The whole work engagement of corporations came to a halt and so the performance of the organisation came down. Thus, Covid-19 activated the hardship of the employee and work engagement of the businesses. From the reviews of Shahid (2019), it has been apparent that due to the absence of internet connectivity and idleness among staff the work of businesses is ruined some way. In connection to the performance of the company and employees, firms fired their personnel by plotting the influx of the outcomes. It has been also observed that work from home is also related with many drawbacks, which contain lack of public communication, lack of interaction, trouble in the arrangement and management of work, loss of efficiency, etc. Thus, Covid-19 decreases the employee engagement and organisational performance.

Research Objectives

1. To identify the nature and features of employee engagement.
2. To find out the effects of Covid-19 on employee engagement in the context of work-from-home practices.
3. To analyse the importance of employee engagement.

Research Methodology

The current study is based on concepts and facts that are descriptive literature review consisting of secondary data and is conceptual in nature. According to Gilson and Goldberg (2015) conceptual papers are the bridges gap between the existing theories and the disciplines and also they provide a multi-level insight along with broad thinking. Conceptual articles get systematised various unpredictable torrents to provide some new understanding (Cher Mack). Researchers using conceptual papers can find valuable advices on problem solving, theorising and concept developing (Alvesson & Sandberg, 2011). The data collected was obtained from various research studies carried out by various academicians and researchers. Majority of the data is taken from the survey, documents, objects and wired reporters which provided insights into the concepts and effects of employee engagement and its factors related to Covid-19 pandemic. About 30% of data is collected from Journals of Emerald Publications, 40% is collected from Research Gate (Google Scholar), 20% is gathered from articles and blogs and 10% is gathered from newspapers. Publications of the World Health Organization are also used to gather the data on Covid-19. A systematic and extensive studies examination was undertaken related to the engagement of employees. The purpose of the literature review is to develop a distinctive method of exploration that generates original thoughtful information about the subject revised. The current study is based on concepts and facts that are a little more descriptive.

Findings and Discussions

Employee engagement is the emotional, physical and cognitive promise of the employees to the organisation (Kahn, 1990). It is also behavioural and intellectual commitment. It is a connection between employees and companies. There are many factors held responsible for the employee engagement which leads to positive outcomes like productivity, profitability, customer satisfaction and shareholder return. The study is intended to understand what is employee engagement, and how employees are engaged in the strict lockdown and work from home. It also sheds light to understand and measure the level of engagement and provided tools and techniques to improve and intensify the stage of engagement, which ultimately refers to the organisational commitment and organisational sustainability. In this period of Covid-19 in working at home regime, engaging employees was a difficult task engagement, which is not given much importance, and in most of instances it is in fact overlooked.

The study found that employee engagement is a constructive satisfying condition of mind leading to an increase in managerial enactment. The present work determines the strategies of employee engagement an affirmative impression on employees and organisational performance as well. The research also found that the employee engagement is significant and positively correlated to the organisational performance but in the times of Covid-19 the organisational performance is reduced due to low and poor employee engagement. It also found that Covid-19 has badly affected employee engagement and negatively impacted the organisational performance Therefore, the current study is filling the gap by providing desired and required tools and strategies like flexible working hours, the balance of work, the balance of pay, recognition, timely appraisals and promotions, which created a positive behaviour and energy in employees to get engaged and bring results.

Covid-19 are not an exception investment for the same after globalisation, employees are secured with guaranteed salary increases through dearness allowances and annual incentives compared to pre-Covid-19 period but in the current situation of work from home, salary hike is linked with engagement that involves continuous involvement, participation, commitment and demands knowledge sharing and knowledge integration that has an impact on performance of the employees and the organisations as well. Employees working in offline mode and encompassing physical activities is entirely a different scenario where bringing a result is quite easy, guaranteed salaries and benefits but in this situation there may be possibilities of loss of energy and escapism in discharging their duties, which may affect the entire business or profitability and productivity. To meet such needs and demands of the global competition, there is a strong need to work on the concept of engagement in times of work from home to improve and proliferate the level of involvement and participation of employees in the organisation. Organisations should always come up with continuous regulators, which enhances the commitment and arrangement, regardless of the sort of the workforce whether online or offline/office or home.

Table 1 highlights some of the strategies that can be adopted by organi-sations to ensure employee engagement while on a practice of work from home. Organisations tried hard to maintain their employees engagement with different strategies to manage organisational engagement and cope up with the covid stress (Chanana & Sangeeta, 2021).

Table 1. Strategies of Employee Engagement while Working from Home.

Source: Developed by the Researcher.

 

Many organisations underwent various online training programme, live sessions expert talk, psychological problems, helplines platforms for solving problems, societal engagement and visual ways of engagement for working the organisations (Mukherji, 2021). According to Hudaya et al. (2020) by means of e-learning staff increased knowledge needed skill learned without disturbing the work process irrespective of time and space, stressed the importance of various strategies like e-learning, conference, digital learning and new skill development on engaging the employees during Covid-19. According to Sharvi Jain (2021), different strategies like leadership, mentoring, positive attitude, psychological therapies and decision-making skills helped to a high heel in solving the high standards and facing unique challenges during the period of coronavirus pandemic to make employees engage. According to Alex et al. (2021), regular leadership communication, open door policy, emotional support and making coaching a team-based effort are some of the tactics applied by the organisations to fight with the challenges of global pandemic. According to de-la-Calle-Durán and Rodríguez-Sánchez (2021) a 5C model has been developed to study the engagement problems during global pandemic. The 5C are conciliation, cultivation, confidence, compensation and communication, which are very essentials to virtually engage employees to have organisational performance, which is also a parameter of staff health and well-being. According to Swaminathan Mani and Mridula Mishra (2020), employee engagement during the period of crisis and unprecedented proportion was possible by leveraging some tools and techniques on morale, and motivation of the employees by developing a strategic framework, which includes employee interventions as team interventions. Engagement is enhanced by taking out fears, providing positive attitude, motivation and morale boosting. Anasori et al. (2022) focused on a few strategies of engagement like psychological distress, resilience and employee mindfulness in enhancing engagement during the times of pandemic in order to give job-related outcomes According to Mahajan et al. (2021), employee engagement in educational institutions also used various avenues for the faculty members to get engaged and perform their duties even in the lockdown by the use of technology for conducting lectures, examinations and meetings that have been unavoidable. Online feedback, online competition, virtual meets, online challenges, interactions and counselling were the important tools to get engaged and committed.

Suggestions and Recommendations

The study had found few tools and techniques to make employees work from home and get engaged, viz., creating a strong secure and safe work environment, establishing a routine, should be active socially and having greater communication, supporting well-being activities, technology investment, work–life balance, professional and personal time, emotional study and behavioural modification study. Sarkar (2020) found that new dimensions approved by the groups are domestic appointment and kids’ management, allowing the staff to work from home. According to reviews of Talukar (2022), organisation should follow a few things like developing a healthy communication protocol with teams and clients, giving a continuous note of appreciation and encouragement, flexible working hours and standards, building an online community with the workers, conferences and virtual meets, online platform gatherings and discussions and timely payment without delay. Goswami (2020) study is pointing on engaging downtime employees and continuous wisdom and growth keeps employees productive and engaged throughout the work-from-home practices. In view of the coronavirus environment, the study also provided the companies with electronic talks, e-conference with business specialists, records files, online-learning, self-developed content for their employees, motivation, take out fears from the mind of employees, provide a positive, safe and secure environment, keep motivated the workforce by podcasts and live calls. Organisations must develop new tools and leverage imaginative strategies such as incorporating job rotation, flexible work arrangements or mentorship programs, digital learning process to upgrade the skill and learn a new skill, providing learning opportunities, summing up resources for nonstop growth and development during work-from-home practices to increase engagement and provide continuous involvement. In addition, encourage the employees to participate in virtual meetings, round table conferences, focus groups and employee survey.

Conclusion

Employee engagement has become an important subject in this tough period of Covid-19. Organisation ranking high and thinking of moving to a higher position would be a mere dream without the support of employees and their engagement in this pandemic. The importance of employee engagement has gained a vast importance, and success of the companies largely depends on it. That is the reason why businesses should look after how to retain their staff engaged, encouraged, dedicated, fulfilled and technologically advanced in the regime of work-from-home based during lockdown. It has become an important challenge for the companies to engage the employees during this pandemic and establish the new measures for the engagement. The theoretical implication states that Employee Engagement increases the faith, obligation, and trust that give employees proper understanding and awareness about innovation to produce better-quality resolutions and outcomes. The study found that employee engagement and its factors have a direct and significant effect on organisational performance. In this uncertain period of coronavirus pandemic, the organisations have taken a big dig in terms of increment and innovation, which led to overall downsizing. The study also found that the employee engagement is significant and positively related to the organisational performance, and in the times of Covid-19 the organisational performance is reduced as the employee engagement became low and poor.

The reasons behind the disengagement in the era of Covid-19 may be due to skill gap, less competition, poor execution planning, strictly limited budget, lack of growth and opportunities, and less coordination and communication among the employees. Once these aspects are studied and analysed, listening to employees and implementing flexible solutions that align with their needs, help, drive commitment and loyalty. Based on the findings of the above activities, the targeted, focused, strategic and engaged workforces can be created

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship and/or publication of this article.

ORCID iD

Ayesha Khatun  https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0932-0444