The influence of social distancing on employee well-being: a conceptual framework and research agenda

Purpose The ongoing pandemic caused by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) virus has severely influenced lives and livelihoods. As service organizations either face hibernation or continuity of their business operations, the impact of social distancing measures raises major concerns for the well-being of service employees. In this paper, the authors develop a conceptual framework to examine how different social distancing practices impact an organization's service continuity or service hibernation, which in turn affects different dimensions of their employee subjective well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic. Design/methodology/approach The authors draw on macroeconomic data and industrial reports, linking them to theoretical concepts to develop a conceptual framework and a research agenda to serve as a starting point to fully understand the impact of this pandemic on employee well-being. Findings This article develops an overarching framework and research agenda to investigate the impact of social distancing practices on employee well-being. Originality/value The authors propose two opposing business concepts – service continuity and service hibernation – as possible responses to social distancing measures. By bridging different theoretical domains, the authors suggeste that there is a need to holistically examine macro-, meso- and micro-level factors to fully understand the impact of social distancing–related measures on employee well-being.