Navigating the Virtual Shift: Exploring Employee Experiences During Fully Remote Transition Following Corporate Acquisition

Abstract

Employees go through different emotional and mental journeys during transitions prompted by restructuring. This study investigated how employees navigated the emotional and mental challenges of a post-acquisition transition while working remotely. Grounded in Marks’ (2007) framework for facilitating adaptation to organizational transition, the research adopts a qualitative case study design, combining semi-structured interviews with Colaizzi’s phenomenological analysis to explore lived experiences during the initial and latter phases of transition. The findings of this study emphasized how company engagement and emotional support from the company and colleagues became important to managing stress from the overwhelming changes during the initial phase of their transition process. Moreover, the employees’ narratives provided insights on their perceived success of the transition with the help of the role preparation initiatives of the acquiring company. The study highlights the significance of employee experiences in exploring transition management approaches in the context of a fully remote transition after an acquisition.