Distributed Operations in Response to COVID-19: Assessing Workforce Perceptions of Productivity and Success

Abstract

During the midst of the Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, a large Navy Working Capital Funded government laboratory transitioned from a traditional on-site/physical daily operational presence to a distributed, virtual maximum telework posture. The direction given in March 2020 was that unless performance of a specific approved tasking was required at the physical workplace, the laboratory workforce was to telework from a safe location while practicing social distancing. To this extent, a majority of the organization’s workforce continued performing the duties associated with their programs and projects in a virtual and secure distributed environment. This new norm certainly raised questions and considerations related to the effectiveness of the workforce while under maximum telework. As a result, two surveys were conducted to assess the perceived work-effectiveness of the organization. The perceived work-effectiveness was assessed at the operational (work unit) level, focusing on project impacts of telework, and from the macroorganizational perspective. The first survey was conducted on a project that was 2 weeks into this virtual maximum telework environment. The second survey was performed one layer above the project at the division level, thereby extending the aperture of the data. Both surveys provided a great deal of information and insight on how project teams perceived work performance and effectiveness during telework. The purpose of the study was to understand the impact of distributed telework in workforce productivity and project success as well as assess workforce perceptions on the effects of telework.