Campus Location
Dallas Campus (Online)
Date of Award
10-2025
Document Type
Dissertation
Department
Organizational Leadership
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Committee Chair or Primary Advisor
Joe Perez
Second Committee Member or Secondary Advisor
Janet Tareilo
Third Committee Member or Committee Reader
Berlin Fang
Abstract
The problem addressed in this study was that remote working employees felt disconnected from their organizations, leading to post-COVID-19 studies on phenomena such as quiet quitting and the great resignation. The purpose of this study was to investigate remotely working employees’ perspectives on connectedness to gain an understanding of commitment within their organization that ultimately leads to the decision to remain or leave. A qualitative phenomenology study was used with data collected from 12 remotely working participants across multiple industries and states. Data were transcribed, coded, and analyzed using a thematic approach with member-checking and triangulation to ensure credibility. Two key findings emerged from the data. First, remote working employees’ responses identified that they valued connection with team members and individuals who provided mentoring, coaching, and support. This connection highlights the importance of organizations in developing e-mentorship programs that assist remote workers in obtaining work goals, wider connection networks, growth potential within the organization, and ultimately higher retention. Secondly, this study underscored the importance of developing leaders with remotely working employees who incorporate the ability to work in virtual teams, by building e-leadership skills leaders based on needs such as cultural development, overcoming change aversion, and basic leadership skills. The researcher concluded that mentorship and leadership training focused on virtual environments is essential in developing and leading remote workers to achieve higher commitment to the organization. Recommendations included the implementation of an e-leadership and e-mentorship program.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Hardy, George m. Jr, "Leading Employees Remotely in a Post-COVID-19 Era: A Phenomenology Study of Remotely Working Employees" (2025). Digital Commons @ ACU, Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 952.
https://digitalcommons.acu.edu/etd/952