Leadership Styles and Employee Engagement in Remote Work Environments: A Post-Pandemic Analysis

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic fundamentally altered workplace dynamics, with remote work becoming a permanent fixture for many organizations. This research examines the relationship between different leadership styles and employee engagement levels in remote work environments through a mixed-methods approach involving 320 employees and their managers across various industries. The study reveals that transformational leadership demonstrates the strongest correlation with employee engagement (r = .78, p < .001), with teams led by transformational leaders showing 111% higher engagement scores compared to those with laissez-faire leaders. The findings provide crucial insights for leaders navigating the new paradigm of distributed work, with 47% of transformational leadership's effect operating through mediating mechanisms including team cohesion, work-life balance, and remote work adaptation.