Empathetic leaders that show care and concern for their workers’ wellbeing are more likely to boost remote and hybrid staff performance than those who remain emotionally distant, according to new research by Durham University Business School and Athens University of Economics and Business.

The researchers also found that leaders who have a vision and are able to share their long-term goals and missions effectively are more likely to boost employee effectiveness.

Conducted by Anders Friis Marstand, Associate Professor of Leadership at Durham and Olga Epitropaki, Professor of Management, alongside Ilias Kapoutsis, Associate Professor of Management at Athens University, the study sought to understand the psychological distance that can occur between remote workers and their managers.

The researchers focused on three leadership behaviours that could close the gap; how they created employee structure, their consideration and communication of their vision. The study looked at how these behaviours impacted upon workers’ efficiency with tasks, their emotional coping, and performance outcomes.

To do so, the researchers used data from two specific studies; a four-wave online study of over 300 remote workers, and a four-wave study of over 200 hybrid workers.

The first study interviewed hybrid workers and how they interacted with their managers, exploring aspects of their manager-employee relationship including; psychological distance, task performance, and the leadership behaviours of their boss. The second study focused on the same areas but with remote workers, in order to provide a direct comparison between remote and hybrid workers.

The researchers found that when managers showed care and clearly communicated their vision, employees working remotely felt closer to them, helping employees to manage their work better.

However, whilst such empathy boosted employee wellbeing and performance, the study revealed it also led to more avoidance behaviours, like watching TV or browsing social media during work hours.

Whilst, the researchers also found that leaders who showed care had the same positive impact on task performance for both remote and hybrid workers, helping employees feel closer to their managers and better manage their tasks.

The researchers say the findings highlight the importance of leaders being more supportive of their employees.

“Remote working spiked during the covid pandemic, and a steady balance has now been found in office roles, with estimates of around 44% of workers in the UK working in some form of remote work role, according to the ONS.” say Professor Epitropaki and Dr. Marstand.

“But with a growing trend of managers asking workers to return to the office to boost performance, it could be the case that it is not home working that has reduced performance, but manager’s poor leadership skills instead.”

To enable managers to better connect with remote staff, initiatives like scheduling regular one-on-one and team meetings to discuss progress and challenges, and addressing well-being concerns are important. Whilst also, clear and transparent communication of goals and objectives can reduce perceptions of distance and enhance employee coping, remote collaboration and performance.

Investing in leadership training in remote contexts will also help leaders adapt to the changing landscape of work and offer them practical tools on how to lead from a distance.