Video games, product placement, luxury, purchase intention, non-luxury

In March 2020, the globe was faced with the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to major changes in how people lived their lives. Social distancing was enforced, travel bans put in place, and businesses had to change the way they functioned. The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way individuals are used to working; companies all over the world have gone through changes in the way work is conducted on a day-to-day basis. This research study aims to investigate how young employees working in small and medium-sized companies and living in the Netherlands experienced working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic in terms of well-being and productivity. This research study was intended to help better understand the future of work, how companies can reform organizational culture favorably, and how young employees adapt and respond to changing situations, in this case, the COVID-19 pandemic. The lived experiences of young employees when the pandemic hit in March 2020, till present day (May 2022) were analyzed through in-depth qualitative interviews conducted with 10 respondents. These interviews were then analyzed through thematic analysis, which produced three overarching themes. The first main finding of the research was the importance of creating a sense of community that allowed interviewees to feel less alone during the pandemic. Secondly, productivity and motivation levels fluctuated throughout the pandemic by following three distinct phases: the initial onset of the pandemic, the realization that lockdowns would continue for longer than anticipated, and the beginning of hybrid working when changed work routines had become the norm. The last theme that came forward was the nature of communication these young employees had with their managers, and how this was pivotal in influencing their well-being and productivity throughout different phases. This paper brings to light some important recommendations for organizations relating to how they can better tackle issues that young employees face by providing a clearer picture of how these employees experienced various aspects of the pandemic and how they coped with the changes in their own lives. This research study also made it clear that personal lives and professional lives could not be neatly separated, and this was an important consideration for organizations with regards to the results presented in this research study.