Impact of Leadership Styles on Employee Engagement Pre and During Covid- 19 in the IT Industry – An Exploratory Study

. The Covid pandemic has ushered in many business-level changes, especially in the IT sector where remote working has become the norm. Leaders have a larger responsibility to mould employees and improve performance. Employee engagement will be key to achieving higher productivity during such times. This study aims at evaluating how the Covid pandemic has altered leadership styles and employee engagement in the IT Industry in southern India. An online survey instrument based on the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale was used to record and measure employee engagement levels. Factors of transformational and transactional leadership were also measured. Around 100 respondents were surveyed about their work experiences before and during COVID-19. Data analysis revealed that transformational leadership corresponded to higher employee engagement levels among IT employees.