Data analyses.

The data from both rounds (2105 and 2021) was compared and analysed to explore managers experiences and narratives, specifically in respect to changes before and after the Covid-19 pandemic. We analytically approached the fluid realm of temporality, however, the relationship between past, present, and future is complex. Time was analysed as a temporal gaze continually shifting as mangers look back and forth in the ever-moving present, overwriting SSEs development, reinterpreting wider social and structural forces. They emerge as interlocking flows of time that are in constant conversation with one another [49].

We analysed data from the two rounds into a comprehensive and coherent analysis of narratives about communication and changes. Analytically, we approached data about the changes and the content of these. We did not focus on the biographic development of every manager, but rather on their narratives and considerations. The main analytical focus was to explore what came into focus for the managers and what faded away as less essential for the development of the enterprise during the Covid-19.

The analytical steps included analysing the data from round 1 and round 2, and then compared them. The analysis was done by the first and the second authors, followed by a discussion of the results between all authors.

To obtain a sense of the whole interview, each interview was read in its entirety. To structure the analysis, the data were coded related to the two data rounds. When the data were coded in round 1 and round 2, we, alternated between the analysis of the two rounds. To collate the data into preliminary themes, we looked for patterns and diversity across the rounds. We used subthemes to structure the preliminary themes. The subthemes were abstracted into two main themes. The analytical outcome is illustrated in Table 2.

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Table 2. Illustration of outcome of the analysis.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0288837.t002

Refinement of the basic concept.

In round 2 the managers described the experience of first two weeks of the March 2020 lock down as being in a vacuum: the inbox was empty and the phone silent, i.e. no business was coming in to the enterprise. After these two weeks they started to reorientate and act. Things needed to get back to normal, and the managers began to reflect how they could get started in business again. From being a successful business in round 1, to being ‘nothing’ felt dramatic for the managers. They needed to consider their options and implement a plan to appeal to customers. Finding new ways to deliver services and keep a position in the market became critical. They also underlined the importance of establishing hope for the future and the ability to survive. For some, the business went better than ever.

I have come out of it extremely lightly. Last year was the best year overall since I started as an entrepreneur. It has been a great year. // It was an absolutely superb year last year. So no, I can’t say that I’ve lost anything from corona, it’s almost the opposite. We received some compensation from employer contributions last year and spring and… Yes, it came automatically, so there was money in the bank immediately. It was almost an advantage for us with corona, if I’m being really honest. [IP5]

The managers of successful businesses made efforts to maintain customer relations and ensure that a customer base was kept during the pandemic in round 2. This was important for the survival of the enterprise and to maintain a normal existence and autonomy in the market. The customer base was a result of consistent work over time for the managers in SSEs, and therefore they wanted to show loyalty and appreciation. When the pandemic occurred, these managers realized the importance of going back to basic concepts overhaul of their products/services.

To maintain and ensure that we still have a customer base, there we felt quite immediately that we got away very lightly. Because… our customers are long-term customers. [IP 2]

In round 1, before the pandemic outbreak, “normal” was constantly evolving and renewing the enterprise, i.e., to develop new services and products. However, in round 2, after the outbreak, it became important for managers to return to basics and the core of the business. They appraised the core business as essential for keeping their head above water in a struggle to hold the market position. In this way the core business represented a normality they strived towards. One example was a contractor who went back to the main concept in traditional building of houses instead of trying to satisfy new customer groups with more demanding and advanced building technics as this required closer physical collaboration with customers, which they considered risky at the beginning of the pandemic.

In round 2, at the start of the pandemic, managers dedicated a lot of time to orient themselves in the chaotic situation. Reviewing the information from public announcements and assessing the implications for the SSE became the priority. As the pandemic continued and became more of the norm, this priority smoothed out as they acquainted themselves to the current situation.

In the beginning, there was very little information… Or, then we didn’t really know where to look, and there were 100 different sources, and it was difficult. I listened to press conferences and watched the news and stuff like that, but now it’s a little calmer on that front. Now we know how and where to search. [IP3]

The managers strived to maintain a kind of everyday life for the SSE and the employees. Despite a very unnormal and chaotic situation in round 2, it was fundamental for them to get ‘back to normal’. This was expressed by one manager to mean keeping the services as is, as it was a proven solution. During the first period of the pandemic, they had developed a model for resilience so they could be helpful to the customers regardless of challenges in time and space.

Socially responsible management.

The importance for the managers to maintain responsible management was elevated due to the pandemic. It was important prior to the pandemic in round 1, and in round 2, even more. Managers felt responsible for the enterprise and their employee’s future employment expressing a social responsibility towards personnel for a fulfilment of economic commitment. This was perceived as a vital task both for keeping the SSE going and to maintain jobs in the region, especially since some SSEs where enterprises in sparsely populated areas, meaning their employees could not easily find other forms of employment, if needed.

I mean, my employees, some of them have started building houses, some have bought new apartments. It’s a disaster, tragedies will happen if we don’t stand on our feet and move on. So, it’s just a matter of stepping forward and doing what needs to be done. There is not much to choose from. [IP10]

Managers in SSEs expressed how important it was to support and sponsor leisure activities in the local community. This was a responsibility they felt before the pandemic in round 1, which became even more important in round 2, during the pandemic. During crises, these activities could become vulnerable, and need financial support. When business was going well, they could provide financial support that helped keeping the activities in the local community going. In this way managers in SSEs expressed a need to operate in a socially responsible way for their local communities.

But then, one more thing that has… well, in the pandemic that is. All sports clubs and everything, it has become that they have gone in and sponsored almost ten times more during the year compared to previous years. // It has been going well for us, and they’ve been struggling. And then I think, then it feels like the time to… well, it has for a long time now, been the right time to support more. // You get it in the end, that’s how it is. [IP5]

Managers would show social responsibility to customers even if they could not use the services of the enterprise. For example, in round 2, during the pandemic, preschools in Norway were closed to non-essential worker-families. In this instance, in a co-op preschool, the manager tried to support the families who were required to keep their children home by offering activities bags with borrowed toys or games to activate the children they had at home.

We got to spend a lot of time in contact with the homes then. Called around and talked to them and arranged some activity bags for the children who were not in the preschool. The parents came and collected these activity bags. There were slightly different tasks then. It was really quite demanding as a manager. Because suddenly I had tasks pulling me in many different directions. [IP11]

In another privately own preschool, the managers expressed a concern for children with special needs. They felt a social responsibility for these families, and therefore paid particular attention to them, keeping in contact and checking up on the families at home, ask how the children were doing and offering assistance. In that sense, the managers revealed socially responsible management in the sense that they scrupulously cared for needs of their customers. Social responsibility was vital for managers before the pandemic in round 1, but in round 2, during the pandemic socially responsible management description changed context. The services of the SSEs became more meaningful, and managers increased their social engagement with fulfilling needs of the customers and community.

Adjustment of work culture.

In round 1 it was easier for managers to develop a good work culture through gathering employees. Shortly after the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, new recommendations were introduced for social distancing. This meant regulations and recommendations about staying at home, limiting travel, avoiding crowded areas, using no-contact greetings, and physically distance from non-family members. In Norway these became mandatory by government, while in Sweden social distancing was a recommendation. This affected the SSEs and their managers in round 2: personal interaction in the workplace and new hygiene policies became the focus to decrease the risk for employees becoming infected with Covid-19.

The work situation has changed. We can’t have our coffee breaks together anymore, because then there will be too many of us in the same place. We go for breaks in batches. So, the “being a team” and togetherness that we usually feel, for example at coffee breaks and other [social] events like this has been seriously affected. There will be groupings and distancing, that’s how it is. [IP10]

In round 2 the managers felt vulnerable because of the low staffing numbers, who relied on each other. Many of the businesses offered specialized services which required a particular competence. This motived them to try to keep everyone healthy during the pandemic.

At the beginning, I thought everyone had a slightly calmer attitude, and then… just like that, someone knows someone who has died in the hospital, then it’s serious. Then you get worried. // So that now we don’t receive visitors from the outside, instead we stay in our big house alone keeping a good distance from each other… So I think everyone feels safe in the work environment. [IP3]

At some workplaces the employees were divided into cohorts and were instructed to keep a physical distance and only interact with others within the same cohort minimizing interactions. The manager was responsible for dividing the employees into cohorts and for ensuring that the rules were adhered to in order to follow the state outlined recommendations. This was a peculiar situation for the managers in round 2, who needed to think differently to secure a safe workplace culture.

Most of the time there has only been the two of us in the office and we have defined ourselves as close contacts and have had a working day that has been quite similar to the previous day. We have tried to be a little restrictive with customers coming to visit and so on, and so it has not been a matter of course that they have been invited in and given coffee. It could be that instead we have a chat out in the courtyard or up in the workshop. Because it’s a little easier to keep your distance, yes. Some things like that. [IP16]

As the virus is invisible there was a lot of uncertainty around everyday activities in round 2, for example, the handling of packages, especially from overseas. The question of which measures to implement to adhere to the recommendations and the keep the employees safe was not a clear conclusion and therefore weighed heavily on the managers. How far should the measures be taken: physically separating employees from customers, separating chairs distancing people, sanitizing packages before handling. “Have we done enough?”, was a question that weighed heavily on the managers in round 2.

In the beginning, it was not known whether the virus, for example, lived on packaging when a package arrived from abroad or something like that. You don’t know that. And I don’t know if everyone knows everything yet. So, then we had to think and every day you have to ask yourself… yes, have you thought about it, thought about keeping your distance? We moved the chairs and now it’s like in everyday life, we have all the time… we have introduced cleaning every day, to eliminate the risk of infection. And right now we have major cleaning going on because… because the branch organization has demanded it. [IP6]

Applying regulations.

The focus in round 2, was on how to deal with anxiety and insecurity about the future. This differed in round 1, when safety issues at the workplace were more predictable. In the beginning, the pandemic was seen as a temporary situation, but as time passed, it became a persisting one which managers of the SSE needed to address daily, with each new wave of Covid-19.

Now that the so-called third wave is here, I think we are all a little more jumpy or a little afraid or more sensitive. So that the general situation is a little more uncertain and we talk about it every day—at coffee in the morning and then at lunch and so on.… I think that everyone vents what they feel in that case, they do. [IP3]

The pandemic situation meant new rules, recommendations, and regulations all the time for the SSEs in round 2. The managers were bombarded daily with new or updated regulations and recommendations. Their main task was determining which of the recommendations applied to their business’ situation, implementing them in a timely and effective method, keeping on top of business and trying to maintain a safe workplace. Norms and policies were put in place for when employees should stay at home and when they could come to work. Before the pandemic, in round 1, the work attitude was that one goes to work even though they have minimal symptoms, a runny nose or a slight cough, for example. The mentality was that these minor symptoms of colds: headaches, sneezing, cough etc. were no excuse to stay at home. With the pandemic, this all changed. The workplace, in round 2, became a risk arena for spreading the Covid-19 virus, and precautions needed to be taken.

We have since given the restriction advice, that you cannot come here if you have a cold. It was a little challenging at the beginning with some who… Yes, you know, you come to work anyway, that’s the mentality you’ve had. But now I think the token has fallen… as we can now refer to the pandemic law and say that if you come to work against the policy, we can actually report you to the Swedish Environment Agency and say that there has been an incident here. [IP3]

Round 2 showed, as well, an increased need for precaution when working outside the enterprise with clients and customers. The managers relied on their employees to be careful and keep social distancing. One manager of an SSE which serviced equipment for health care institutions, explained it the following way:

We were very conscious of this with close contacts, so limit it as much as possible. If we are to enter the institution buildings, then we are dependent on their trust in relation to us handling this with infection and close contacts and all that in a proper way. And that meant that in some contexts we also had to separate the employees. Otherwise, we became very vulnerable, because if one of them got infected, we would sort of have to quarantine the whole gang and that… yes… And we managed to avoid that then. [IP18]

Addressing the risk for being infected by Covid-19 became a task managers needed to pay attention to in round 2. They experienced that the employees were anxious and tense for catching the virus. Managers, for this reason, focused on preserving the psychosocial work environment.

Yes, we have not needed to have contact, but on the other hand, we have offered the staff, of course, from time to time… Or, they know that if they need to talk to a behavioral therapist or someone else then… other services are available, they can contact me and I will book it. But, no one has needed it so far, but we have been clear that this therapy is available. [IP3]

Creating a cohesive work culture.

In round 2, working digitally and having online meetings became common in all SSEs. Particularly, in the beginning of the pandemic where restrictions existed for travelling and an exhortation to work at home for those who could. There came a need for managers and employees to communicate and participate in meetings without requiring a physical presence. The solution was to implement the use of digital platforms such as Zoom and Teams, making it an ordinary communication form within the business.

Yes, so we have had more meetings in 2020 than we have ever had. It’s because it’s so easy, Teams-meetings and so on. ’We take an hour now and update each other and other things’, we have not done that before. It is almost as if we have perhaps become more efficient in certain matters and can make decisions more quickly. Instead of a month passing its ’yes, but now we’ll take a quick meet’. [IP7]

Even though this new form of communication strengthens the flexibility of the business, as seen in round 2, as well as makes spontaneous communication easier due to eliminating the need for consider travelling to and from, etc., it also created new challenges. It became challenging as the employees did not have the same level of daily physical contact which made the workplace less cohesive. Previously, in round 1, when all work was done inhouse and employees were in the building, managers focused on creating a health-promoting corporate culture, characterized by inter-organizational dynamics and participative leadership. This was conditioned by the physical interactions of employees and managers resulting in a workplace characterized by corporate culture, solidarity, and flexibility. The pandemic effectively eliminated these interactions with the work-from-home policy. In round 2, the workplace suffered by losing its social dynamics as they had in round 1, regarding pattern of development and driving forces of a working group and sense of community. It became difficult to reestablish that same level of cohesive work culture and team atmosphere. The introduction of digital platforms, such as Teams and Zoom became tools for interaction and information sources. This made it easier to promote more cohesion at the workplace.

… now this with Teams has become very popular. We have become very good at digital meetings. // So this has become a small detail… which means that we have got more of that ’we-feeling’. Because now everyone in the organization knows what is going on at all times. Everyone gets information and everyone gives information away… so everyone gets the same information. So no one seems to get either more or less. [IP18]

The use of digital meetings was not limited to internal meetings. This digital tool became the go-to for all meetings in round 2. Managers of SSE have always found it useful to meet other managers in the same branches to discuss. Before the pandemic, in round 1, the meetings were physical, either by travelling together or by visiting each other’s locations, which due to the restrictions became impossible. Digital meetings have become the solution.

Cohesive work culture could also be stimulated by finding activities to do together despite restrictions. Instead of meeting at pub after work as they did in round 1, employees and managers could take a walk and make this a social event of importance to the workplace.

Not meeting at pub after work, but they’ve gone for a walk, yes. ‘Top 10’ [climbing mountains] is almost like that, some people become fanatical then, you know. The internal competition got so fierce that we had to cut it out, you know, because they got a little crazy. Got prolapsed and stretched and stuff like that. [IP13]