Åsidosätts anställdas behov i händelse av en kris? : En fallstudie kring situationsanpassat ledarskap vid kriser inom ett försäkringsbolag och dess påverkan på anställdas motivation.

Sammanfattning: Title: Are the needs of the staff disregarded in the events of a crisis? Subtitle: A case study about situational management during a crisis at an insurance company and its effects on employee’s motivation Background: After reviewing previous research in the field, we have found in this paper that situational leadership promotes good crisis management, but how motivation is treated follows as a secondary priority. In crisis management within organizations, strategies are created by those who have a leading role, with the goal of going back to a "normal" business, as it was before the crisis, with a focus on adaptability and flexibility to how the transition is to be implemented. Communication is one of the most important tools for creating an effective group and in the case of remote work, high demands are placed on the leader's adaptation and the leader's way of communicating for work to be carried out. The purpose of crisis management from a leadership perspective is to create strategies with the end goal of going back to "normal" through flexibility instead of making drastic changes to resolve a difficult situation after an unforeseen event, such as the Covid-19 pandemic. The lack of including the motivational aspect of the employees in a crisis leads us to the knowledge gap that we intend to analyze in this study. Purpose: The purpose of the present study is to gain an in-depth understanding of situational leadership with a focus on communication and motivation in a crisis. Methods: The research method we chose to use is designed as a qualitative method to provide a deeper understanding of the subject. As a research strategy, we have used a case study that involves investigating a specific case or an individual organization. We chose to conduct semi- structured interviews, which meant that we created a list of relatively specific themes that are relevant to the intended purpose in the form of an interview guide. Conclusion: The study has shown that the lack of social interactions in remote work, negatively affects motivation and that the motivation aspect is not a priority in crisis management. Furthermore, the study can conclude that the motivation aspect is neglected in a crisis with the background that the focus of the organization instead shifts to be able to continue, despite crisis, conduct its core business. There is still uncertainty as to how communication should be designed when teleworking to reduce the risk of fragmentation in the working group. Divisions in the working group can be stated to have occurred in the investigated company, which can be a topic for further research.