Working Apart Together: How Management Information Supports Forced Working from Home after the COVID-19 Disruption

Worldwide the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted organizations. One major effect was a massive shift to working from home (WFH). Government-mandated constraints and lockdowns forced many organizations to adopt working remotely within a short time frame. We investigate if, how and when management information in place is associated with performance following forced WFH due to the pandemic. For this purpose, we adjusted the design of an ongoing study on customer due diligence teams at Group Financial Crime Prevention at Nordea Group. The COVID-19 disruption enabled us to test how teams’ pre-disruption management information affected their efficacy in adjusting to forced WFH. Multilevel analysis of survey data collected from team members and leaders matched with other firm data, shows that team management information considered more useful before the disruption facilitated post-disruption performance and teams’ ability to work remotely. Additional analyses show this effect is mediated by enhanced team communication, is driven by the decision-making role of management information, and is stronger when after the disruption the team meeting structure was adjusted. Collectively, our findings highlight the role of management information in coping with a major disruption and supporting forced WFH.