Did Leadership Become More Important During COVID-19? A Longitudinal Analysis of the Impact of Servant Leadership on Performance and Work-Life Balance Satisfaction in a Public Organization

In this article we raise the question whether servant leadership became more important for performance and work-life balance satisfaction during the COVID-19 pandemic. Two alternative hypotheses are formulated stating that on the one hand the impact of servant leadership may have increased during COVID-19 as servant leadership can help in dealing with a crisis. On the other hand, it may have become more difficult to express leadership behaviors when leaders and employees are physically distanced from one another. A longitudinal approach was taken to examine the role of servant leadership in relation to the performance and work-life balance satisfaction, comparing the situation before and during the pandemic. Panel data was collected in a Dutch government organization (N = 293). Results indicate that there was a decrease in the amount of servant leadership experienced by employees, however its impact remained in times where leaders and employees were confined to their homes.