What am I doing? An interview study regarding the experience of managers practice on a distance and the leadership within.

Abstract: The Covid-19 pandemic moved work from the office to the home, rapidly creating a new working life where remote work became the new normal. In times of change, leadership becomes important, and the managers have to take big responsibility in guiding during new uncertain situations. This thesis aims to explore how first line managers make sense and handle their practice in the new context created by the pandemic, and how they perceive that the distance has influenced their leadership within this practice. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 13 managers within the Swedish labour force. To understand their sensemaking of the situation as well as how they view themselves as leaders, the concepts of role and identity alongside the contemporary leadership discourse was used in the interpretation of their experiences. The results show that the managers perceived that social interaction was much more difficult and that ‘something’ went missing in the digital context, making it difficult to understand the role expectations. They strive to be modern managers but perform contradictory actions. In order to make sense of their new practice the managers implemented strategies based on their own needs and previous experiences as well as performing identity work, either to adapt or maintain their leader identity, to handle the pandemic practice. It can be concluded that it is easier to be a manager from a distance than a leader.