INDECS 19(2), 239-256, 2021 DOI 10.7906/indecs.19.2.5 Full text available in pdf and xml formats.

Received: 8th February 2021. Accepted: 4th June 2021. Regular article

ABSTRACT

The goal of the article is to identify whether the COVID-19 crisis has had an impact on the company's internal communication - both from leader's and organization member's perspective, that is, to compare the leaders' perceptions of their leadership and communication style on one hand, with the organization members' perceptions of the communication model they use with same-level colleagues and the descriptions of their leaders' philosophy on the other hand. 16th March 2020 is the turning point that marks the start of the pandemic - communication before and after this date was analyzed. Two questionnaires (one for leaders and one for organization members) designed by the authors of this case study were administered to these two targeted hierarchical levels in a privately-owned company in North Macedonia. The analysis showed what both groups stated - after the pandemic outbreak face to face meetings were replaced by virtual communication, shorter meetings became more common, leaders were involved by giving feedback, and they led by logos, with the most welcomed difference being in the leadership model: leaders maintained that their leading was by example in both periods, while organization members claimed that after the start of the crisis their leaders' priority was work-life balance.

KEY WORDS
COVID-19 pandemic, effects, internal communication, leaders, organization members

CLASSIFICATION

JEL:	D23, D81, D83