International Journal of Management Science and Business Administration

Volume 8, Issue 5, July 2022, Pages 26-40

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The Dichotomy of a Changing Workplace: Analysing South Africa’s Newspapers during the Covid-19 Situation

DOI: 10.18775/ijmsba.1849-5664-5419.2014.85.1003  
URL: https://doi.org/10.18775/ijmsba.1849-5664-5419.2014.85.1003 

Jeremiah Kau Makokoane

The Southern Africa Institute of Management Scientists, Independent researcher, South Africa

Abstract: This paper analyses the potential influence of the selected, South African online newspapers on the discourse of alternative workplace arrangements during the Covid-19 era. A content analysis of online newspapers’ coverage of the pertinent workplace requisites of performance during the Covid-19 pandemic enlightens the complex dichotomy of a traditional office workplace against work from home and a hybrid work model.  The essence of anticipatory corporate leadership is that personnel behavior has to adapt to the changing work situation. This paper hypothesis that the framing of ideas by South African newspapers promotes perceptions and particular interpretations of the prevailing workplace environment during the two years of the Covid-19 period in South Africa. The research uses qualitative content analysis, which is the written texts, and quantitative methods of content analysis of newspapers by conducting a hypothesis test and independent group ANOVA test. That provides perspectives of choices and reasons for or against the distinct workplace situation. The results show that the newspaper reports focused more on the “Work from Home” practice. The newspapers’ perspective on the “Work from Home” culture may heighten the anticipatory strategies of corporate leaders in their pursuit to sustain high work performance. The circulation level of selected online newspapers in South Africa influences the research findings.

Keywords: Workplace Culture, Anticipatory Leadership, Content Analysis, Newspaper Reports, Covid-19 Situation

1. Introduction

The workplace environment is essential for establishing a productive business operation. A traditional workplace is a historically established norm of informational organizations. The Covid-19 pandemic has brought about some changes in work practices. The imposed sudden change on organizations has thrown corporate leaders into a spin. As a result, they explore ways of aligning their organizational strategies with the emerging business environment. The definite refinements or complete overhaul of the company’s strategies, processes, and systems would require sustenance of the company’s value narrative. The leadership considerations would also involve the alternative work setting conducive to effective work practices of employees. Furthermore, the requisite change in the work environment may necessitate the adjustments of company policies to influence employees’ norms of behavior at work. Management styles and approaches to work are impacted as managers pursue employee responsiveness and control. In the process, anticipatory leadership can extract new value-add ways of doing business from a seemingly debilitating situation under the Covid-19 condition. The qualities of such leadership style would require agility to a new work arrangement. That includes effective communication on company goals. As a result, a combination of traditional and unconventional work practices would ultimately create a new workplace culture.

Newspapers serve as a critical source of information concerning societal behaviors. Companies and their work practices are no exception in how newspapers write their media content of societal discourse about workplace arrangements. The Centrality Model of Communication Content suggests that antecedent conditions of a social, political, or economic nature suspected of affecting a communication content may demonstrate a connection with such antecedent effects (Riffe et al.,2005). Along the same line, this paper presupposes that the Covid-19 circumstances have increased attention of newspaper journalists to concerns about workplace practices. The assumption about the media narrative is that it influences the audience, particularly the decisions of corporate leadership in making choices about workplace situations (McQuail, 1994). The Covid-19 pandemic has thrown a spanner in the works by influencing the place of work, both in workplace structure of co-worker interaction and manager-employee collaboration. This paper uses qualitative and quantitative content analysis methods in explaining the contrasting new workplace of organizations in South Africa. The aim is to ascertain the effects of mass media news framing on the work situation of corporate leaders and their employees.

2. Literature Review

2.1 The Changing Workplace

Awan and Tahir (2015) explain a working environment as a location where people collaborate to perform their work duties to accomplish organizational objectives. The character of a workplace is the interaction between employees and their work tools, systems, and processes within a structured workspace such as an office building. The situation mentioned above and the quality of a workplace climate, would determine the state of the work environment that contributes to employee performance levels. A positive or negative workplace climate create the work-related mood of employee morale, standard of employee engagement, and job satisfaction levels. The appropriate working conditions are analogous to a workplace with safety, privacy, and spatial comfort. Furthermore, the workspace is sufficiently ventilated, lightened, and relatively silent (Leblebici, 2012; Awan and Tahir, 2015). Importantly, the nature of work is defined as the actual workplace when the work is performed by using work tools (Sekar, 2011). Dawis and Lofquist (1984) postulate that the Theory of Work Adjustment (TWA) assumes an Interaction Model approach with the worker pursuing a firm and reciprocal connection with their work. In turn, a fitting process predicts the work outcome, which depends on flexibility between complete compatibility and tolerable incongruous worker-work environment correlation (Dawis and Lofquist, 1984). Along these lines, work adjustment might be the initiative of either the worker or their employer. The subsequent locus of change is the actual changes seen in the worker or their workplace (Dawis, 2004; Eggerth, 2008).

Traditionally, the employer provides a suitable workplace with ancillary apparatus and a cordial atmosphere conducive to productive work performance. That promotes organizational needs and employee commitment (Clements-Croome, 2006; Leblebici, 2012). Additionally, modern workplaces have become flexible, variably, and perpetually changing in nature (Smith, 2011). As a result, creative employers strive to satisfy the needs of their employees by altering conventional workplaces. The companies which are high-performing structure their office layout in a way that promotes the interaction of employees across functional divisions (Leblebici, 2012). Haynes (2008) describes the interaction of workers as a behavioral element of the office workplace with an utmost favorable outcome on productivity. However, the aftermath of distraction and poor ergonomics result in adverse effects and employee dissatisfaction (Ibid).  Therefore, the design of workplaces facilitates teamwork synergy that is identifiable by contemporary technology (Leblebici, 2012). Alternative workplace arrangements are much suited to informational organizations given their management processes and systems, which allow flexibility of work productivity by using technology. Mainly, capable technology-savvy employees, skilled information technology personnel, and a modern, stable digital infrastructure, provide critical support to the best performance of an organization (Mahlon Agbar, 1998 - HBR).

This paper suggests that the Covid-19 situation has elevated an imposed locus of change on the worker and the workplace. The 2021 International Labour Organization (ILO) report states that before the Covid-19 event the survey data on teleworking was generally low (ILO, 2021). Teleworking or telecommuting was estimated to be between 15% to 18% of the workforce, worldwide (Ibid). Every third worker in Europe and Northern America telecommute, compared to a lesser number of one in six amongst the sub-Sahara African working persons. However, the advent of the Covid-19 event is assumed to have redefined the attitude of workers with more embracing a flexible work arrangement (FWA). Commuting workers from western countries have escalated to 33% to 50%, while those from developing countries such as Brazil are relatively low at 13% (ILO. 2021). The sudden surge in FWA is supposedly the result of the abrupt emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic (Iqbal et al., 2021). Notwithstanding, communication through information technology promotes the spatio-temporal moral freedom of workers. Using modern mobile and wireless information and communication technologies (ICTs), workers can connect remotely from their traditional physical workspace (Hislop et al., 2015). Consequently, alterability of the workspace happens from home, in a car, or elsewhere without making concessions to the detriment of the work itself (Iqbal et al., 2021). In turn, the FWA has increasingly become a noticeable hybrid work setting involving high-stakes decisions by corporate managers. Hence, the related pitfalls of poor organizational policies of hybridity are presumed to produce different repercussions. Employees experience social and professional isolation likely to adversely impact social well-being development (Hislop et al., 2015; Iqbal et al., 2021; ILO, 2021). Negative impacts on manager-employee interaction and weak employee teamwork may result in severe drawbacks to performance. Additionally, enduring organizational identification and the threat to cybersecurity measures will necessitate effective and robust business continuity strategies (Garg and Van der Rijst, 2015; Iqbal et al., 2021).

2.2 Anticipatory Leadership

Savage and Sales (2008) posit that three skills of anticipatory leaders who pursue organizational sustainability demonstrate features of futurists, strategists, and integrators. Anticipatory leaders are watchful in keeping up with developing trends from conventional and unclear sources. Strategists tactically entwine contrasting information to anticipate future possibilities. They display integrator personality types by promoting organizational value-add relationships and dialogues amongst working teams. Accordingly, their discernment of imminent and eventual events evokes curiosity and encourages creativity through systems thinking and reframing corporate strategies. A sense of urgency accelerates the disruptive nature of the need for a strategic change (Kotter, 1995). Significantly, the awareness of leaders’ own emotional intelligence propels it to prepare for the future. The audacity to face an uncertain situation with courage and the authenticity of the leader’s strength requires the inspirational personality towards followers. Additionally, the agile leaders who are adaptable and capable to remain resolutely focused on adjusting their organizational strategies to the emerging uncertain situation take calculated risks. Ultimately, the anticipatory leaders convey critical ideas to important role players before they achieve the set corporate goal (Ratcliff and Ratcliff, 2015).

An effective action of a capable leader who seeks to adapt to change is a function of realigned business processes by a workforce with a changed work culture mindset. A change in organizations may require retraining, reskilling, and redefining the job descriptions of employees. Managers may adapt their leadership styles to successfully steer their followers and other key stakeholders. Notably, a change demands the introduction and use of information technology systems may heighten the required transformational mind-shift of all employees (Bainbridge, 1996, p. 37). Conger et al. (1999) suggest that in transforming an organization, corporate leaders are to act with urgency by guiding collaboration of clarifying and establishing short-enhancing change and by a continuous impression of establishing new approaches. Subsequently, in being flexible and embracing the necessities of the emerging organizational order, an anticipatory leadership will abandon or redesign the antiquated business procedures and work practices (Bainbridge, 199 with6, p. 12). The human resource executives and their technocrats will contemplate organizational strategies to enhance work engagement. The expectations are that the company leadership will adapt talent management strategies to fit the new working environment and further boost work efficiency (Chandrasekar, 2011; Leblebici, 2012). Additionally, both the employer and employee may benefit from applying a hybrid work policy. The hybrid working plan might help in reducing the company’s operational cost of public utilities such as electricity and water usage. On the other hand, an employee’s chosen workplace might be convenient and reduce commuting costs. When the worker is conscious of the reaction of a sensible employer, the worker may be motivated to maximize work productivity (Garg and Van der Rijst, 2015; Iqbal et al., 2021). This research study assumes that an anticipatory leader will remain concerned about maintaining the high productive capacity of workers. Accordingly, the leader is obliged to uphold the existing organizational culture. As an example, encouraging a clan culture with a people focus on mentorship and teamwork will support employee engagement experience in an adaptable working environment. Managers who encourage their teams to sustain an adhocracy culture with risk-taking and innovation will bolster organizational creativity in a prevailing hybridity situation. The Denison Model of Organizational Culture supposes that a unique corporate culture is consistent and adaptable (Denison et al., 2012). Remarkably, the leadership strategy, practices, and behaviors could reveal the effectiveness of an enduring corporate culture. A highly cohesive work group would also assist in advancing the common goals and overall vision of the organization (Pavlica et al., 2013).

2.3 Communication Effects from Newspapers

This research study suggests that Communication Theories are the bedrock of the media in their quest to provide convincing news.  Tankard et al. (1991, p. 3) supposed that a media frame is ‘‘the central organizing idea for news content that supplies a context and suggests what the issue is through selection, emphasis, exclusion, and elaboration.’’ Along this line, mass media framing elevates the issue at hand, while priming provides antecedent circumstances essential to interpret ensuing communication (Scheufele, 2000). The analysis of mass media framing in this paper focuses on the Covid-19 situation juxtaposed with a changing workplace environment. The interpretation of media priming explains the Covid-19 event, attitudes of company leaders, and the different ways of a workplace environment. In explaining the five axioms of Interaction and Interpretive theories, Watzlawick et al. (1967) suggest that communications somehow transmit dual impressions. Notably, the content of a message is a report to the receiver, and the relationship in delivering the message requires a skillful/subtle command to the recipient. However, Hall (1980)’s Theory of Preferred Reading advocates three stances on decoding media messages. Firstly, dominant readings, where readers accept the dominant ideology in media messages and its interpretations in agreement with the writer. Secondly, negotiated readings with readers favoring the dominant definitions while reserving the rights to apply the events in keeping with local conditions. Thirdly, oppositional readings, in which readers understand the writer’s intentions but are antithetical to the message.

Notwithstanding, Houston et al. (2014) posit that several researchers assert that the media is generally accepted as critical to the resilience of society/community, particularly when the media transmit good communication. The centrality of communication and media somehow is foremost to community resilience models. Moreover, in conceiving responsible media narratives from reliable sources regarding a disaster situation, there is a potential to build flexible capacity for society. Thus, the notion of community resilience is hypothetically covering problematic conditions such as diseases (Ibid). Therefore, this paper suggests that workplace resilience could advance workers’ adaptability following a disaster such as a Covid-19 pandemic. Figure 1 below depicts the antecedent conditions that are assumed to affect communication content of newspapers which in turn influences anticipated effects.

Figure 1: Centrality Model of Communication Content (Adapted from Riffe et al. 2005, pp.13).

The predominant antecedent conditions with a potential to influence the reporting slants of newspapers are mainly, the Covid-19 situation, company leadership attitude, and the traditional workplace practice in South Africa. Communication contents by newspapers are a sequel to the identified antecedent conditions which likely affect individual employees and organizations.

Riffe et al. (2005) postulate that communication content contemplates the precursor of contextual circumstances of individuals, organizations, and society in general. However, the potency of likely anticipated results depends on empirical or theoretical logic to available factors (Ibid). This paper supports Communication theories and is consistent with how researchers analyse communication content. The Covid-19 circumstances are increasing attention in the framing of media content that concerns workplace practices. The expectations are that the media narrative will influence the decisions of corporate leadership in making choices for alternative workplace situation. The anticipated effects from newspaper reports are immediate, with the prevalence and continuance of the Covid-19 case having heightened the adaptation of the problem. In that regard, leaders of companies must allow employees to work in a safe workplace, particularly away from the office. According to the Mass Communication Theory of Denis McQuail (1994:69), media reports on social norms are likely to captivate public awareness by presenting debatable practices and plausible explanations of dominant behavior. The news may also cover matters of social impact by constructing themes about the subject in writing. The immediate and predominant characterization of the factual reality of existing conditions assists in enlightening society on matters of topical interest (Ibid).

This paper covers the thematic analysis of prevailing working options available to South Africa’s workers from the two years of the Covid-19 situation. The alternative business operating choices are recognized when workers decide to work “In Office” or at the Office, “Work from home,” by “Hybrid work.” Working at the office is the traditional office setting that is geographically away from the home (Garg and Rijst, 2015). Differently, when workers work from home, they are deemed to be working physically away from the traditional workplace office. Workers will communicate and connect online or virtually with the office in the working dimension of time-space compression. In turn, employees do their work in any place that is conducive to effective performance (Iqbal et al., 2021). A hybrid working model is a system of working at the office with work-from-home arrangements. The dictates of balancing contrasting working environments necessitates such a mixed work plan. A specific distance to a workplace, a convenient location to work productively, costs analogous to the workplace, and capabilities of corporate managers, help in the design of a company’s hybrid working system (Ibid).

This study seeks to suggest a balanced or disproportionate framing of news regarding working options by hypothesizing and interpreting the reporting angles of selected online newspapers. Each newspaper covers this area of interest given the perspective each follows, particularly during the two years of the Covid-19 period in South Africa. As an example, the reporting stance of the IoL newspaper focus on property and real estate; BusinessTech newspaper pays attention to business operations and associated capable technology of use suited to working away from office situation. Dailymaverick newspaper emphasizes productivity and social impacts on changing work practice. SouthAfrican and SowetanLive newspapers report on the lifestyles of employees under the new normal which heightens a hybrid work situation. Mybroadband.co.za writes on various topics relating to a hybrid working situation covering tools used, related corporate policies, and associated health matters. Special operational dictates of a thriving workplace environment are in the following work dimensions:

1. Mutual trust between an employer and employee relationship by entrenching and balancing the requirements of an effecting contractual employment arrangement (“Work from home,” 2022). As a result, the employer expects the employee to be committed to their work and timely produce the expected work outputs. Generally, a productive work through a hybrid working model is by cost-saving methods (Tyilo, 2020).
2. Job roles with crucial responsibility areas and have tasks and duties which are easier performed away from the office. The CareerJunction highlights increasing trends in remote work away from office phenomenon during the Covid-19 event. The increasing employment levels were apparent in the job positions of middle management, auditors, sales representatives, and ICT-related tasks in software development, in data analytics, and systems administration areas (10 jobs,2022).
3. Business standards of working, including agreed working hours, are to be upheld by employees when working away from the office (“Work from Home,” 2022). In considering that personal tax rebates are a relief for the employee who uses a home as a workplace, the concerned individual can claim rent, payments of services made to public utilities, internet data usage, and maintenance of the house used for work activities (“Been working”, 2021). However, the sweet spot is in combining and balancing of factors to optimize the hybrid work model. Such factors include flexibility of work arrangements, standards, and contemplation of the employees’ wellbeing when in isolation (Boyle and Cavataro, 2022).
4. Workplace environment, which corresponds to a place conducive to a suitable and satisfactory workspace. In turn, some employees conveniently choose a hybrid work approach to advance the interests of their private space and enhance the interior layout of their homes by changing room features, such as curtains, paintings, and furniture, to make the workplace pleasant (Roux, 2021¹ and Roux, 2021²).
5. Health and well-being under a hybrid work practice produce a productive and healthy work environment which is attainable when employees are cautious of following a Work-life balance. Furthermore, when employees are mindful of stressful situations linked with work burnout, isolation, eye strain in using computer screens, and poor back health caused by office chairs of inferior quality (“More South African,” 2021; Nkanjeni, 2022).
6. Socio-demographic factors, including gender and age, as reported by the global market research organization, Ipsos, can influence the choice of working at the office or working from home. Newspaper reports indicate that women experience disruptions when working from home while men struggle to maintain teamwork. Workers of 30 - 40 years old prefer working in an office to cultivate trust while the older workers like to work from home (Ledwaba, 2021).
7. Management capabilities and flexibility of human resource policies will be tested by a shift of work practice persist in hybrid work arrangements. Some reports indicate that managers are likely to micromanage employees who work away from the office. The continuous monitoring of employees will become obvious when managers take photographs or install software surveillance to monitor activities of employees during working times (“More South African,” 2021).

3. Methodology

This research study explored selected online newspapers of South Africa and analyzed their media content coverage relating to (1) workplace at the office or (2) away from the office. The research study is for a duration of a two-year period, from March 2020 to Marcon2022, of the Covid-19 situation in South Africa. The study mainly focuses on newspaper content analysis by qualitative and quantitative methods, which are valuable for conceptualizing and grasping the significance of newspaper reports of work situations during Covid-19 circumstances. 49 newspaper articles are from selected South Africa’s online newspaper websites. The keywords / terminologies are an analysis from newspaper articles. The search relied on relevant primary keywords, which are: “In Office Workplace (IO),” “Work from Home (WH),” and “Hybrid Work (HW),”, which serve as categorical variables in this multidimensional analysis of a workplace. Hence, the study compares three different samples of data from categorical variables (Wegner, 2007, pp 385).  The descriptive words from newspapers are secondary terminologies which are grouped under the relevant category variable as detailed in Appendix A. The grouped terminologies broaden the meaning and best judgment concerning the newspaper’s contexts. The primary and secondary keywords are units in the newspaper article’s samples for coding about a workplace.

Three primary analyses are, (1) a qualitative content analysis which proceeds from a textual analysis by the coding scheme of newspaper article reports per work type category; (2) That is supported by a hypothesis testing for the comparison of three independent category groups; and (3) In turn, an independent group ANOVA test determines similarities of reporting keywords by newspapers. The methodical approach enables the researcher to formulate, interpret meaning, and draw a generalized inference from the content of selected newspaper articles (Krippendorff, 2004, pp. 37; Saraisky,2016)

3.1 Content Analysis

Saraisky (2016) suggests that usually, content analysis flows from theoretical deductive reasoning and a coding scheme that rely on systematic methods that are useful to provide interpretations of particular content. Hence, this study has adopted a coding system to capture each reported keyword in the sample newspaper article to the relevant category group in this multivariate analysis of a workplace. Comparable Article Reports, Figure 2 below and Table 2 in Appendix A, provide count occurrences of coded keywords for use as alternates by different newspapers. A particular keyword in a newspaper is counted once only even though it is appearing many times in the same article. In turn, each categorial value indicates the newspaper’s frequency of reporting on an individual category. As an example, the “In Office” category appears most frequently at 15% in newspaper articles of IoL, South African, MyBroadband, and Business Insider, with the term less used in other newspapers.  The News24 newspaper used the term “Work from Home” category 23.6% times compared with Southern African Newspaper (18.1%), IoL (12.5%), and the remaining newspapers each having a single-digit percentage count. Alternatively, BusinessLive newspaper dominates the use of the term “Hybrid work” category when comparing articles from other newspapers. All newspaper reports have been extracted online from related newspaper websites.

Figure 2: Comparable Article Reports

In computing the frequency of the terminologies used by newspaper articles, it is not enough to discern the readers’ stance on the choice of workplace. The expectations are the frequency data would become more valuable when comparing the three categories. Hence, by comparing the frequency of use of the term “In Office” category against the term “Work from Home” category, or the term “Hybrid work” category, a measure of contrasting newspaper reports is established for alternative workplaces. Krippendorff (2004) and Flick (2014) posit that communication content analysis research involves a structured process that entails sampling, framing, coding, and pattern analysis as distinguishable categorized elements when developing a hypothesis.

3.2 Hypothesis Test

Along these lines, this study has three category groups of which a pairwise comparison is conducted using a hypothesis test. Therefore, the hypothesis testing for this research study is as follows:

Test: The Hypothesis for the comparison of three independent category groups are:

H_null : u1 = u2…= u3 (means of all three groups are equal)

H_alt : u1 <> u3 (means of the three groups are not equal)

Therefore, the null hypothesis test assumes that the means distribution by category group is normal with equal variances (Wegner, 2007, pp 387). Implying that a sample of selected newspaper articles will report on a balanced representation of categorized grouping of keywords which are units in the newspaper article. The units are: “In Office (IO)”, “Working from Home (WH)” and “Hybrid Work (HW)”. The alternative hypothesis suggests that the means of the three category groups are not equal, and thus the newspaper articles will report differently on the grouped units (Wegner, 2007, pp 387). Accordingly, specific variables to be measured are: (a) Working “In Office” culture (a traditional workplace practice); (b) “Working from home” culture; and (c) A “Hybrid Work” culture. Significantly, this study intends to observe and indicate the reported coverage of the hypothesis by the targeted online newspapers to show balance/ imbalance coverage.

3.3 Independent Group ANOVA test

Using the One-Way Analysis of Variance termed an Independent Group ANOVA, our implementation of three pairwise tests for the three category groups involve: IO vs. WH, IO vs. HW, and WH vs. HW. ANOVA is a method used to compute the F test statistic to test the equality of means across multiple populations based on a sample (Wegner, 2007, pp. 383).

3.3.1 Calculating the Global P-value for the Null Hypotheses

The performed ANOVA, Single-factor in Microsoft Excel, Table 3 below, is used to calculate the global p-value for the null hypothesis that all three groups are equal. The p-value for these statistics is p< 0.001 (reported in the table as 0.000598), and when converting the p-Value to a percentage = 0.06%.

Table 1: ANOVA: Single Factor Calculating the global p-value for the null hypothesis

The observed small p-value (0,06%) is evidence of differences in the three (3) means across groups. The 163,8788 units (i.e., SS Between Groups) out of the Total, 419,8788 units is explained by the different types of workplace environment (i.e., In Office, Work from Home, and Hybrid Work). The amount of variation within each sample is measured by 256 units (i.e., SS Within Groups), and cannot be explained by the treatment variable. The Mean Square Between Groups (below MS) is the resultant variance estimate value, 81,93939 units. The Mean Square Within Groups (below MS) is the resultant variance estimate value, 8,533333 units. Furthermore, the observed large F-value of 9.6 implies that means of the three groups are vastly different from each other when compared to the variation of the individual observations in each group. Furthermore, since the F-value is larger than the critical value (F-value (9.6) > F Crit (3.31), this implies that there is a statistically significant difference between group means that are larger than what would be expected by chance given the per comparison error rate or level of significance (α) of 0.05. Therefore, the result suggests a rejection of the null hypothesis that all the group means are the same. Thus, the alternative hypothesis is supported that at least one group’s mean differs from another group’s means (Wegner, 2007, pp.387-394; Menyhart et al., 2021).

3.3.2 Calculating the Adjusted P-value of each of the Three Pairwise Comparisons

In turn, to determine specific mean differences, we performed a paired analysis of the group, two at a time. By performing a Bonferroni adjustment, given the adjusted p-value with the p-value result multiplied by 3 and using the t-Test: Paired Two Sample for Means approach, the result of comparing the mean for each two category groups is determined in Appendix B (Table 4- Table 5) to Appendix C, Table 6. Therefore, the adjusted p-value of IO vs. WH = 0,020735, IO vs. HW = 3,0, and WH vs. HW = 0,037457. The Bonferroni-procedure is an established multi-testing correction method regarded as easy and clarifies the number of statistical tests without assuming the relationship between tests. Furthermore, it controls the family-wise error rate (FWER) by permitting limited instances of false positives (Menyhart et al., 2021).

4. Results and Discussion

The Results of a Bonferroni adjustment show that two adjusted p-values (i.e., 0,020735 and 0,037457) are lower than the significance level (α = 0.05). The results confirm the rejection of the null hypothesis and the statistical significance of the results (Menyhart et al., 2021). Pre-eminently, the WH, the “Work from Home” category, is distinguished from the results of the two preceding adjusted p-values. Furthermore, all the adjusted p-values are higher than the global p-value of 0.000598 or 0.06%, and as a result, no further adjustments are necessary. However, IO vs. HW is larger than One (1) and its effect is probably too small. Notwithstanding, the results support an acceptance of the alternative hypothesis that the means of the three groups are not equal. Furthermore, there are more significant differences in means of means category groups of IO vs. WH against IO vs. HW with the differences of means being 2.98. The difference between category groups of IO vs. HW against WH vs. HW is 2.96, while those between groups of IO vs. WH against WH vs. HW is 0.02. The results imply that newspaper reports on category groups between IO vs. WH and WH vs. HW might be more similar since the difference in means is closer. Otherwise, the other comparisons of category groups show dissimilarities with a more significant difference in means.

Selected South Africa newspapers captured in Appendix A Table 2 indicate a total circulation of 51.7 million. The content of the newspaper reports emphasized the “Work from Home” category as a reporting mainstream of South Africa’s workplace environment type. In contrast, the newspaper writers are inconspicuous in reporting on the other two group categories. The nature of differences in the sample means of the three category groups is observed in Table 3, with the “Work from Home” category showing significantly higher reporting by newspapers. Along with the axiomatic thesis of Watzlawick et al., (1967) it is proposed that the dominance of communicating the “Work from Home” concept is directing the audience to its importance. Moreover, the news framing and the reporting angles regarding working options seem to promote preferential reporting to the receivers. Notwithstanding, Hall’s (1980) Theory of Preferred Reading still applies in that the recipients of the news are likely to be inconsistent with the perceptions of newspaper writers. The probable after-effects of the distinct news coverage are an anticipated attitude of recipients’ (1) Dominant readings, (2) Negotiated readings, or (3) Oppositional readings. Assuming that the South African workers are resilient in welcoming the emerging “Work from Home” culture. Consequently, the implicit indications are that there is interrelatedness to media. Some company leaders or workers are possibly influential and reliable sources of newspapers. Perhaps such influences contribute to an upward spiral reporting on the “Work from Home” norm. Furthermore, the workers’ attitude indicates a change of mindset after the Covid-19 disaster. Therefore, the suggestion is that anticipatory leaders of organizations should exploit the pivotal moment by realigning business game plans to effect competitive advantage of the “Work from Home” practices. That should involve techniques in talent and teamwork management practices and procedures to advance the use of remote connectivity by information technology systems. Additionally, “Work from Home” practices would necessitate collaborative work engagement and balancing of savings of operational cost. However, the choice of implementing the “Work from Home” practices, whether immediate or delayed, also lies on the individual manager and particular worker. Moreover, in the future, managers may anticipate the convergence of a working “In Office” culture with a “Working from home” culture to blend working practices towards a “Hybrid Work” culture model. In the main, the presumption is that the sustenance of a highly productive workforce remains the essence of managers’ interest.

5. Conclusions

This research study supports the views of Riffe et At. (2005) that in the real-world, audiences of media content have the latitude to accept and learn from transmitted communication given their psychosocial state. Notwithstanding, Riffe et. At. (2005) backed other researchers in that potent messages may have some effects on audiences. Along this line, this study concludes that South Africa’s online newspapers have shown an effort to report on the prevailing and contrasting changing workplace trends during Covid-19 the situation. The suggestion is that the newspaper articles have left an indelible impression on leaders of organizations. In future leaders of organizations will inevitably re-align the work practices of their organizations when contemplating corporate strategies. The research findings of this study suggest the following conclusions:

1. Antecedent conditions of a social nature may raise interest in how newspapers report on societal behavior, such as a changing workplace environment.
2. The Covid-19 circumstances in South Africa have escalated the need for a change of traditional workplace practices of working “In Office” to “Work from Home” and to a “Hybrid Work” arrangement.
3. The focus on the “Work from Home” culture in newspaper contents has transmitted an impression of its importance to the audience even though the receivers have the latitude in deciding in interpreting media messages.
4. The influential newspapers’ slant on the “Work from Home” culture may heighten the anticipatory strategies, policies, and processes of corporate leaders in their pursuit to sustain high work performance.
5. “Work from Home” culture is virtual and online connectivity and need to strengthen a flexible and collaborative work arrangement.
6. The anticipatory capable corporate leadership skills are critical to changing workplace circumstances.

Acknowledgments

This research study relied on reports from selected media content of South Africa’s online newspapers. The statements made herein are solely the responsibility of the author.

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