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The main aims of the paper were to explore the role of information and communication technology (ICT) in shaping the work-life balance of managers working remotely and to identify individual recovery strategies and organisational interventions to support digital managers. The theoretical background was based on the work-family border theory and the effort-recovery model.

A semi-structured individual in-depth interview (IDI) was used as the research method. The research group consisted of 13 managers from companies in Poland representing various industries. In all, 560 min of recordings and 201 pages of text were obtained and subsequently coded and categorised.

The results showed that remote managers struggle with the work-life imbalance and blurred boundaries between work and private roles, as well as difficulties in maintaining digital hygiene. The use of ICT enables high flexibility but contributes to work-life conflict. Managers who work from home experience a constant workload and suffer from impaired recovery. The use of ICT creates a need to recover and maintain digital hygiene. However, there are constraints that impede managers' recovery attempts. Many feel that their work does not allow to recover but requires to be “always on” to help their subordinates fulfil their responsibilities, even though they do not expect their subordinates to work after hours. Finally, managers perceive organisational support as insufficient or inappropriate for their needs. They admit that they do not participate in organisational interventions due to lack of time and do not believe that they help them to maintain or restore their well-being.

The role of ICT in blurring the boundaries between work and private roles was explored in depth, as was the “always on” phenomenon as a factor contributing to the tension between the need to recover and the inability to engage in recovery activities. The study has practical implications for integrating individual and organisational approaches to well-being and identifies solutions to encourage managers to maintain digital hygiene and mental health.

The purpose of this paper is to define the impact of training and development (T&D) in the Visegrad countries (V4) as impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, namely, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. These countries have some political, cultural, social and economic similarities and share some common ground in the human resource development (HRD) sectors.

The authors used the HRD theory and the human capital theory to analyse the context, operations and impact of T&D in the V4 countries due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The research was conducted in 400 companies, 100 from each of the four countries using the computer assisted web interviewing technique. The questionnaire was in a six-point Likert scale format and addressed 12 topics related to T&D: policy, expectations, procedures of diagnosis, preparation, implementation, monitoring, trainees, trainers, investment and expenditures, evaluation, results and controlling.

The authors concluded that in the Visegrad countries, Covid-19 raised expectations on T&D. This was followed by increased levels of action in diagnosis, preparation, monitoring and implementation, following pre-existing and adjusted policies. Evaluation and control were complicated. Investment and results and the human side of the T&D (trainees and trainers) were the ones for which there were more uncertainties and perplexities.

The study has the limitation of using only a small sample in four countries. For further research, the authors suggest a larger study extended to all the European Union countries, an in-depth analysis of the current data and the kurtosis on Policy of T&D.

The results of the research can be used to improve T&D programs after the Covid-19 pandemic. They could also provide information to external trainers to improve and adjust their services according to the opinions of the respondents of the study. The research findings can also serve institutions responsible for policy provision of HRD at a national level by providing possibilities to apply for funding either within national or regional funds like the National Training Fund in Poland or within European Union money at a national level.

The study is original because even if the T&D in V4 countries during the Covid-19 pandemic had already been studied separately (e.g. Mikołajczyk, 2021; Vrabcová, Urbancová 2021; Vinichenko et al., 2021), no empirical, cross-national research analysing specifically the T&D in those countries has been carried out so far. The authors use an innovative methodology, addressing 12 topics and the people involved together with the stages in which a T&D policy is divided. That makes it innovative and very relevant.