Remote Work and Employee Performance During COVID-19: Cyprus Tourism

Introduction and Background

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought major changes to the way people work globally (Espitia et al. 2022). Millions of people lost their jobs while others quickly adjusted to working from home as businesses were forced to close under new protocols designed to minimize the spread of the virus (Fan and Moen 2022). This sudden transition to remote working undoubtedly affected employee performance, since new challenges had to be faced and tackled in a very short period of time (Karl, Peluchette, and Aghakhani 2022). This research examines how remote working affected the performance of employees at the Cyprus Deputy Ministry of Tourism — an organization for which remote working was not an option before the pandemic. It identifies and analyzes the advantages and disadvantages of remote working since the start of the pandemic. Data were collected through structured interviews, and selected secondary literature was also examined, including books, journal articles, research reports, and material from professional associations.

Rationale: Remote working was not a preferred or common practice in Cyprus before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The concept of working from home became established immediately after the pandemic began in order to halt the rapid spread of the novel disease. Although remote working offered a quick solution to a problem faced by millions of workers worldwide, employee performance under this model remained questionable — especially for those who had no prior exposure to it (Yang et al. 2022). The employees of the Cyprus Deputy Ministry of Tourism had never worked from home before, and this sudden shift brought numerous challenges. By examining how employees performed during the pandemic, this study sheds light on how quickly people can adapt to new and challenging circumstances, which areas proved most difficult, how solutions were found, and how employees managed the psychological impact of the crisis. The overarching aim is to demonstrate the necessity of incorporating remote working post-COVID-19 despite the initial challenges involved.

Hypothesis: Shifting exclusively to remote working initially reduced the performance of employees at the Cyprus Deputy Ministry of Tourism at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic; however, over time it became an essential tool that offers performance outcomes equal to those achieved through traditional office-based work.

The study is guided by the following research questions:

Overall research question: How did the shift from traditional office work to remote working affect the performance of employees at the Cyprus Deputy Ministry of Tourism from the start of the COVID-19 pandemic through 2022?

Research question A: What changes in the work environment of the Cyprus Deputy Ministry of Tourism resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic?

Research question B: How is the performance of employees measured?

Research question C: What impact did those changes have on employee performance?

Literature Review: Remote Work and the COVID-19 Pandemic

The Republic of Cyprus has been a member of the European Union since May 2004 and further integrated its economy by adopting the euro as its official currency in January 2008. The Cypriot free-market economy is driven primarily by its services sector — most especially tourism — which accounts for 80–85% of its gross domestic product (CIA World Factbook 2022). Despite historical territorial disputes between Greece and Turkey, the residents of the Republic of Cyprus currently enjoy the same rights and privileges as their European counterparts (CIA World Factbook 2022). The population of Cyprus is approximately 1.3 million, with a per capita income of $37,700 (2020 estimate). The portion of the island under government control maintains a comparatively low inflation rate and an unemployment rate of about 7% (CIA World Factbook 2022). Although Greek is the official language, a significant proportion of residents are also fluent in English and other European languages. Given this context, travel and tourism represents a critical component of Cyprus's economy, and the Cyprus Deputy Ministry of Tourism plays an integral role in promoting the industry.

The Cyprus Deputy Ministry of Tourism was established on January 2, 2019, as a transformation of the Cyprus Tourism Organization (CTO). It is headed by the Deputy Minister of Tourism and comprises the Director General's Office along with four departments: Administration; Marketing and Communication; Quality Assurance; and Strategy and Product Development. These departments are organized across the Head Office, Regional Domestic Services, and Regional Services Abroad (Cyprus Ministry of Tourism 2019). As of December 31, 2019 — the year the COVID-19 pandemic began — the Ministry employed 216 people (Cyprus Ministry of Tourism 2022), all contributing to a travel and tourism industry that accounts for a significant share of Cyprus's GDP.

The international travel and tourism industry accounts for approximately one-quarter of total employment in Cyprus (Tourism Cyprus 2022). More than 2 million international visitors arrive each year, generating around 2.5 billion euros — approximately 14% of the state's gross domestic product (Tourism Cyprus 2022). Like many world-class destinations, Cyprus has seen an expansion of traditional tourism to include specialized forms such as diving, sailing, adventure tourism, cultural tourism, medical tourism, and faith tourism, all of which have contributed to the industry's sustained growth.

Early in the COVID-19 outbreak in March 2020, the decision was made to require Cyprus Ministry of Tourism employees to work from home in order to prevent the spread of the virus. This fundamental change in working arrangements introduced multiple challenges, some of which were difficult or impossible to foresee (Mark et al. 2022). The same general disruption was felt in organizations of all sizes and types around the world (Donati et al. 2021). As Wrycza and Maślankowski (2020, p. 288) observe, "Within a few weeks, Covid-19 made a radical breakthrough from traditional office work to the remote type. This transition has been termed a 'big bang' for organizations to be forced into a rapid change of technology."

Importantly, the positive outcomes realized through remote work have largely outweighed the negatives, and many organizations elected to continue the practice even after the requirement was lifted. Wrycza and Maślankowski (2020, p. 289) emphasize that, "The [Covid-19 virus] has changed our world forever. In fact, even the worldwide ending of the pandemic will not mean a return to the pre-Covid-19 office patterns." This observation has proven prescient. Increasing numbers of employees have chosen to continue working remotely or to seek positions that accommodate this arrangement. As Wrycza and Maślankowski (2020, p. 289) conclude, "Many employees declare their interest and willingness to continue digital, online work after the pandemic. We are witnessing what will surely be remembered as a historic deployment of remote work and digital access to services across every domain."

Working remotely, however, is not without its drawbacks. Even tech-savvy employees who routinely use telecommunications applications have experienced difficulties with connectivity and collaboration, and many have found their work-life balances severely disrupted. As Shirmohammadi, Au, and Beigi (2022, p. 164) note, "Popular representations of remote work often depict it as a flexible, technologically feasible, and family-friendly work arrangement. These representations, however, have not been universally realized in organizational responses to the Covid-19 pandemic."

Many of the challenges currently associated with remote work were long recognized before the pandemic, but the combination of mandatory home working and the closure of entertainment venues, indoor dining, and recreational spaces during the quarantine phase exacerbated these challenges considerably. As Cooke (2021, p. 38) observes, "Once realized, widespread telework turned out to be a mixed blessing. After weeks of Covid confinement, workers on social media joked that they were 'living at work rather than working from home.'" This undesirable outcome underscores the importance of self-discipline when employees are given the freedom to determine how best to achieve their workplace goals from home.

As Cooke (2021, p. 39) further notes, researchers "expected more than mere energy saving and worker productivity. They wanted to return labor, in time and space, to the sphere of a worker's own influence. These pioneers did not imagine that so much saved time would only be expended on more work (much of it uncompensated), and they were not alone in this error." Cooke (2021, p. 39) concludes that, "Many of the twentieth century's eminent thinkers on economics, John Maynard Keynes among them, assumed that increased labor productivity would result in more personal time. Instead, remote work became another front in one of the defining battles of twentieth-century labor economics: the defeat of leisure."

An additional source of stress for remote workers was the pressure to demonstrate that they were working as hard at home as in their regular workplaces. As Randazzo (2022, p. 143) points out, "An unprecedented Covid-19-induced explosion in digital surveillance has reconfigured power relationships in professional settings [due to] the interplay between technology-enabled intrusive monitoring and the augmentation of managerial prerogatives in digital workplaces." Few employees are accustomed to this level of scrutiny in their own homes, and resentment of this management strategy has been high (Randazzo 2022).

Many of the challenges are also exacerbated by employees' inability to meet face-to-face regularly and to access all of the information and technological resources available in a traditional workplace (Aloisi and De Stefano 2022) — constraints that were also identified by the interviewees in this study. These considerations have particular importance for human resource managers tasked with maintaining productivity and morale (Becker et al. 2022).

Security represents another significant concern. When employees are forced unexpectedly into remote work, they may have to rely on personal devices to stay connected, amplifying security risks. As Lamphere (2021, p. 33) reports, "The [Covid-19] pandemic and the accompanying switch to remote life have certainly ramped up our usage of digital technology, and that has exposed us to more security breaches." Even when employees are provided with employer-issued technology, unforeseen vulnerabilities can emerge. Lamphere (2021, p. 34) cautions that hackers can gain access through phishing emails and exploit webcams and home security cameras, creating deeply intrusive privacy violations that may discourage employees from working remotely in the future.

There are no easy solutions to the challenges of remote working, especially when it is mandatory and implemented without adequate preparation time. Employees may need to learn new skills quickly, and guidance may not be readily available. As Langovska and Rozentale (2021, p. 333) note, "Teleworking during the Covid-19 pandemic posed challenges such as occupational safety risks, health risks, separating work from leisure time and acquiring new knowledge and skills in a short time." Taken together, these challenges make it all the more important to identify lessons learned and incorporate them into future organizational planning.

Methodology

This study drew on both quantitative contextual data and qualitative primary data to develop timely and informed answers to the three guiding research questions. Although some quantitative data informed the broader context, the study's methodology was primarily qualitative in nature, relying on structured interviews with five full-time employees of the Cyprus Deputy Ministry of Tourism. The interviewees were all known to the author and personally recruited; the purpose of the study was disclosed prior to the interviews. No compensation was offered, but participants were assured of their anonymity and offered a copy of the study's findings and recommendations.

The 21 interview questions were developed based on findings from secondary research on organizational responses to the transition to remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the author's personal knowledge of the Ministry's administrative processes. Each question was categorized according to its relevance to one of the three research questions: questions 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 10, and 14 addressed Research Question A (workplace changes); questions 6, 8, 17, 18, 19, 20, and 21 addressed Research Question B (performance measurement); and questions 5, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, and 16 addressed Research Question C (impact on performance). This method was deemed optimal for collecting the data needed to answer the study's guiding questions (Neuman 2013).

The 21 interview questions were as follows:

1. Have you ever worked remotely in the past?
2. How long have you been working remotely?
3. Was the Deputy Ministry of Tourism prepared for the transition to remote work? If not, why?
4. Did you have the appropriate technological tools to accomplish your work duties? If not, what did you need?
5. Did the transition to remote work affect your productivity?
6. Were your work objectives clear each day or week?
7. Was it easy to reach your teammates and management when you needed them?
8. Did you have access to all the information you needed to accomplish your duties?
9. Did virtual meetings have the same value as face-to-face meetings?
10. What problems, if any, did you face when working online?
11. What solutions would you recommend to address these problems?
12. What disadvantages do remote workers have compared to those in the office?
13. What benefits or advantages do remote workers have compared to those in the office?
14. What do you like best and least about working from home?
15. Did you feel you had a good work-life balance when working remotely?
16. Did you look forward to returning to the office, or did you prefer working remotely?
17. How is productivity measured in your department?
18. How many hours do you work when you are at the office?
19. How many hours did you work remotely from home?
20. How many tasks did you complete on average in a given week when working in the office?
21. How many tasks did you complete on average in a week when working remotely?

Conclusion and Recommendations

The research showed that 1.2 million people of Cyprus enjoy living and working in a world-class tourism destination that has much to offer residents and travelers alike. The millions of tourists who visit Cyprus each year account for nearly 13% of the Cypriot gross national product, meaning that the work performed by the interviewees and their colleagues represents an important contribution to Cyprus's budget, financial security, and future economic development. Their efforts to promote tourism-related initiatives also improve the quality of life for Cyprus residents and provide a major source of employment. Identifying opportunities to improve working conditions at the Ministry of Tourism and its ability to respond effectively to future disruptions therefore represents a timely and valuable enterprise.

Research Question A — What changes in the work environment resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic?

All interviewees proved resilient and ultimately overcame the multiple challenges that the transition to remote work presented. Several recurring problems were identified, however, and these are addressed in the recommendations below.

Research Question B — How is the performance of employees measured?

Most employee performance is measured by the number of activities, tasks, or action plans completed.

Research Question C — What impact did the changes have on employee performance?

Overall, employee performance increased slightly, due in part to staff members losing track of how long they had been working or turning to work as a productive alternative to the constraints of isolation. As discussed throughout, however, some downsides accompanied this modest increase, including a diminished work-life balance. Nevertheless, all interviewees reported positive aspects of remote work, and most indicated that they would prefer to continue working remotely — at least part of the time — going forward.

The following recommendations are based on a synthesis of the findings from both secondary and primary research, and are divided into three categories: immediate, short-term, and long-term.

1. Immediate

The following cost-effective strategies can be implemented immediately to better prepare for future events requiring remote work:

— Allow staff members to borrow, or permanently provide, appropriate office chairs and other equipment — including a small desk — necessary for performing regular workplace tasks at home for the duration of any disruption event.
— Provide all staff members with employer-issued laptops, even if they already own personal devices, to ensure software compatibility and data security.

2. Short-term

The following recommendations should be implemented at the earliest opportunity to strengthen the Ministry's ability to respond to future remote-work scenarios:

— Offer a hybrid work arrangement whereby staff members may work from home at their discretion.
— Digitize all newly received hard-copy documents upon receipt and store them in a secure, accessible online location available to all authorized Ministry employees.
— Conduct in-house training on all telecommunications and collaboration software to ensure that all employees can use these applications to their full potential.

3. Long-term

As the alliterative adage goes, "Prior planning prevents poor pandemic performance," and this is certainly applicable to the Cyprus Ministry of Tourism. The following long-term recommendations are provided to strengthen future disaster-response capabilities involving remote work:

— Conduct periodic refresher training to keep staff current with changes in communications technology used for virtual work.
— Survey all employees regularly to gather feedback on their current working arrangements and identify further opportunities for improvement in office productivity.

In sum, the COVID-19 pandemic served as an unplanned but instructive large-scale experiment in remote work for the Cyprus Deputy Ministry of Tourism. The evidence gathered from this study is consistent with a growing body of scholarship suggesting that, in the long run, the benefits of remote work typically outweigh the challenges. With appropriate investment in technology, training, and policy, the Ministry is well positioned to incorporate remote and hybrid working as enduring features of its organizational model.

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