Distansarbete förväntas öka, vilket innebär att framtidens ledare bör kunna leda sina medarbetare på distans. Det finns en stor mängd forskning inom ämnet ledarskap men det är ännu oklart om aktuella ledarskapsteorier även kan appliceras på distansledarskap och det krävs mer forskning kring just ledarskap på distans. Syftet med studien var att undersöka vilka egenskaper chefer upplever att de behöver, eller behöver utveckla, för att förbättra sitt ledarskap på distans. Det undersöktes i en kvalitativ studie genom att hålla semistrukturerade intervjuer med mellanchefer på en statlig organisation. Datan analyserades genom induktiv tematisk analys. Resultatet visade att de egenskaper som chefer upplevde behövas är en ömsesidig tillit mellan sig själv och medarbetarna, att man som chef är närvarande och tillgänglig, anpassningsbar och empatisk samt kommunikativ. Egenskaperna, utifrån chefernas olika perspektiv, upplevs hänga ihop. Exempelvis krävs god kommunikation för att vara närvarande och tillgänglig. / Remote work expects to increase, which means that future leaders should be able to lead their employees remotely. There’s a large amount of research on the subject of leadership, but it’s still unclear whether current leadership theories apply to remote leadership and more research is required. The purpose of this study is to investigate which qualities managers feel they need, or need to develop, to improve their remote leadership. It was investigated in a qualitative study by holding semi-structured interviews with managers at a government organization. Data were analyzed through inductive thematic analysis. The results showed that the qualities managers felt were needed are mutual trust between themselves and employees, that as a manager you’re present, available, adaptable, empathetic and communicative. The qualities, based on the managers' different perspectives, are perceived to be connected to each other. For example, good communication is required to be present and available.

Abstract Background: Hybrid work arrangements are today a common feature in many modern business models. As less time is spent at a common office, they constitute a potential threat in terms of reduced social barometers necessary for creativity and serendipity to occur.  Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore how organizations can maintain and nurture creativity in the context of a hybrid workplace, as well as the occurrence of serendipitous encounters.   Method: Semi-structured interviews with seven participants from well-established organizations who are all working under hybrid work arrangement. A qualitative approach was carried out utilizing an inductive approach, followed by a thematic analysis of the primary data.  Conclusion: The findings suggest several significant factors impacting creativity and serendipity in the hybrid workplace. The study concluded the factors simultaneously supportive of both creativity and serendipity to be the most effective areas to pursue in order to surmount the social deficiencies posed by hybrid work. The results further highlight building awareness around the concept of serendipity as a prerequisite to truly leveraging on its potential and mobilizing it to further areas of operation.

Vårt examensarbete syftar till att undersöka skillnaderna i ledarskap och social interaktion mellan chefer och medarbetare baserat på om man arbetar hemifrån eller på kontoret. För att hitta det vi sökte formulerade vi en forskningsfråga: Vad har distansarbete för påverkan på ledarskap och den sociala interaktionen mellan chefer och medarbetare? För att hitta svaret på vår fråga genomfördes sex intervjuer, uppdelade mellan tre chefer och tre medarbetare. Resultatet visade att skillnaderna i ledarskap var måttliga för båda parter, där cheferna anpassade sig och agerade mer empatiskt mot sina medarbetare. Den sociala interaktionen minskade under distansarbetet och vissa utmaningar uppstod, såsom isolering och uttråkning.  Nyckelord: Ledarskap, Social interaktion, Distansarbete. / Our thesis aims to discover the difference in leadership and social interaction betweenmanagers and employees based on whether you work from home or at the office. To findwhat we were searching for we formulated a research question: What effect does remotework have on leadership and the social interaction between managers and employees? To findthe answer to our question we conducted six interviews split between three managers andthree employees. The result that we got were that the difference in leadership were moderatefor both parties, managers adapted and acted more empathically towards their employees.The social interaction lowered during remote work and some problems occured which wereisolation and boredom.

The main theme of this thesis is the impact of the sudden transition on service delivery caused by the COVID 19 pandemic on social workers and career practitioners in related fields. Like most professional careers that the sudden takeover of the virus has obstructed, the field of social work has been one ofthe professions that the global pandemic has negatively impacted because of its heavy reliance on face-to-face interactions. By employing research methods, challenges faced while working remotely by the social workers were identified, and a main design concepts was proposed in supporting the work of the social workers.

<p>As more organizations adopt varying work arrangements (e.g., remote, in-person work), it is increasingly important to understand factors that associate with employee’s job satisfaction under different work contexts. Previous studies, based almost entirely on in-person work contexts, have mixed findings on whether certain personality traits relate to job satisfaction. The current meta-analysis investigates the potential moderating role of work context on the relation between personality and job satisfaction. Specifically, I examine how personality traits are associated with job satisfaction differently under remote and in-person work contexts. I first compiled an integrated definition of remote work and identified the unique characteristics that contrast remote from in-person work contexts. Drawing from interactionist theories, I then highlighted how the characteristics of work context could moderate the relation between the Big Five personality traits and job satisfaction. I conducted a meta-analysis, quantitatively summarizing findings from 246 studies (<em>N</em> = 260,492). Results suggested that all five Big Five personality traits are significantly related to job satisfaction, however work context did not moderate the relation. Overall, findings from the current study suggest that the personality-job satisfaction relation is statistically significant and robust across contextual differences.</p>

Arbete hemifrån är inget nytt koncept men under covid-19 pandemin har distansarbete ökat i hög utsträckning under en relativt kort tidsperiod och blivit normaliserat till ett vardagligt arbetssätt. Det finns fördelar med distansarbete, exempelvis arbetsro och mindre resor, men det existerar även utmaningar. Kommunikation på distans har upplevts som en utmaning för många chefer och organisationer. Men hur påverkar egentligen distansarbete verksamhetsstyrningen med hänsyn till utmaningarna med kommunikation? Det har påvisats att det vid distansarbete existerar mindre utrymme för informell kommunion i organisationerna och kan påstås leda till verksamhetsstyrningskonsekvenser. Syftet med studien är att förstå hur informell kommunikation påverkas vid distansarbete och vad detta kan få för konsekvens för verksamhetsstyrningen. Med hjälp av 15 semistrukturerade kvalitativa intervjuer med chefer eller personer med liknande ansvar, påvisar studien att minskning av informell kommunikation försämrar information, relationer, distraktion och motivation inom verksamheter. Studien lyfter även fram tre faktorer som påverkar att informell kommunikation minskar. Det existerar en risk att relationsbanden som binder samman verksamheten splittras när utrymmet för social interaktion genom informell kommunikation försämrats. Detta kan påverka förutsättningarna för hur chefer kan styra medarbetare till gemensamt uppsatta mål och strategier när den informella kommunikationen blir försämrad vid distansarbete. / Work from home is not a new concept but during covid-19 pandemic has remote work widely been increased in a relatively short period of time and been normalized as a common way of working. There are benefits with remote work, for example for most a quiet place to work and less work travels, but there are also some challenges. However, communication at a distance has been experienced as a challenge for many managers and organizations. But how does remote work affect management control regarding the challenges with communication? It has been suggested that remote work give less room for informal communication to occur in organizations and that it can be argued that it may lead to management control consequences. The purpose of the study is to understand how informal communication at remote work and what the consequences of this will be for the management control. The study, with 15 semi-structured qualitative interviewers with managers or individuals with similar responsibilities, indicates that a decrease of informal communication decreases information, relations, distraction, and motivation within organizations. The study highlights three factors that contribute to the decrease of the informal communication. There is a risk that the bond of relations that hold the organization together loosens when social interaction through informal communication decreases. These conclusions may be argued to affect the prerequisites for managers within an organization to manage the personnel towards common goals and strategies when informal communication decreases during remote work.

Since the 1970s, remote work had been considered as a niche approach to work. However, that changed in 2020 with the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic. Remote work became a necessity for most organizations amid a worldwide crisis. Post-COVID-19, remote work is expected to remain a dominant work form for many organizations, as various studies have shown. Naturally, questions arise regarding the effects of this emerging post-office work environment. Objectives: This thesis work aims to investigate the effects of remote work on the relationship between organizational culture and innovation in the technology sector. Methodology: A quantitative approach is followed in this study. Data collection is done using a 26-item questionnaire. Eight hypotheses are tested using a theoretical model developed based on existing literature. Four of the hypotheses test the direct relationship between organizational culture and innovation. The hypotheses theorized that developmental, group, hierarchical and rational cultural traits positively affect innovation. These were derived from previous literature and are used to benchmark the validity of the theoretical model. The other four hypotheses are novel and test how remote work moderates the relationship between developmental, group, hierarchical and rational cultural traits and innovation. The theoretical model is measured and analyzed using structural equation modelling techniques with PLS-SEM. Results: Two of the four hypotheses on the direct relationship between organizational cultural traits (i.e., developmental and group) and innovation were supported. This result is as expected; and is in line with previous literature where the hypotheses were derived from. Hence, the result provides confidence in the validity of the theoretical model. The other two hypotheses testing the direct relationships (i.e., hierarchical and rational cultural traits verses innovation) were not supported by the results. This can be partially explained by prior studies and the fact that this study focused on a specific industrial sector i.e., technology. The remaining four hypotheses on the moderating effect of remote work on organizational culture and innovation were also not supported. Conclusions: In this study, developmental and group cultural traits were shown to positively affect innovation in the technology sector. Meanwhile, hierarchical and rational cultural traits did not. Also, remote work was not found to moderate the relation between organizational culture and innovation in the technology sector. Theoretical implication: This thesis work makes a novel contribution to research by studying the interplay among the triad of remote work, organizational culture and innovation. Moreover, the results in this study contribute to the existing body of research which show that developmental and group cultural traits positively affect innovation. Industrial implications: The results in this study imply that remote work does not affect the relationship between organizational culture and innovation. These results assure managers that they can continue to fully extract the benefits of remote work without affecting the underlying culture of the organization and curbing the innovation potential of their teams. Recommendations for future research: Future research may consider using more established methods of measuring remote work in relation to this study. Also, the research design can be more streamlined e.g., by focusing on a specific industry, country and innovation type.

No description available.

Bakgrund: Distansarbete har vuxit fram som ett alternativt arbetssätt som erbjuder flera fördelar. Men distansarbete som ett permanent inslag i hur anställda väljer att arbeta ställer flera krav på chefer och deras styrning. Under pandemin såg vi hur anställda som övergick till distansarbete efterfrågade större autonomi, medan chefer tidigt satte in fler kontroller. Det har således uppstått en problematik i relationen mellan tillit och kontroll när anställda väljer att arbeta på distans. Syfte: Syftet med uppsatsen är att beskriva relationen mellan tillit och kontroll under distansarbete, med avsikt att närma sig en förståelse över hur dessa förhåller sig till varandra för att slutligen föreslå hur tillit och kontroll kan balanseras för att uppnå organisatoriska mål. Metod: För att besvara frågeställningarna förhåller vi oss till en kvalitativ forskningsstrategi med en fallstudie på företaget Alpha. Fallstudien består av 12 semistrukturerade intervjuer med 12 respondenter inom ett verksamhetsområde inom fallföretaget. Resultat: Relationen mellan tillit och kontroll vid distansarbete skildras individuellt per anställd beroende på tre faktorer: (1) personen som undersöks och dennas leveranser, (2) tidsintervallet som undersöks, och (3) processen som undersöks. Vi finner genom vår analysmodell stöd för att personer kan delas in i en av fyra grupper för att bättre förstå vilken nivå av tillit respektive kontroll en anställd bör förhålla sig till. Utifrån detta föreslår vi hur personer genom olika inkrement kan förflyttas för att antingen styrka nivån av tillit eller minska nivån av kontroll. / Background: Remote work has emerged as an alternative way of working that offers several advantages. But remote work as a permanent element in how employees choose to work places several demands on managers and their management. During the pandemic, we saw how employees transitioning to remote work demanded greater autonomy, while managers put in more controls early on. A problem has thus arisen in the relationship between trust and control when employees choose to work remotely. Purpose: The purpose of the thesis is to describe the relationship between trust and control during remote work, with the intention of approaching an understanding of how these relate to each other in order to finally propose how trust and control can be balanced to achieve organizational goals. Methodology: To answer the questions, we use a qualitative research strategy with a case study at the company Alpha. The case study consists of 12 semi-structured interviews with 12 respondents within a business area within the case company. Conclusion: The relationship between trust and control in remote work is portrayed individually for each employee depending on three factors: (1) the person being investigated and their deliverables, (2) the time interval being investigated, and (3) the process being investigated. Through our analysis model, we find support that people can be divided into one of four groups to better understand what level of trust and control an employee should relate to. Based on this, we suggest how people can be transferred through different increments to either strengthen the level of trust or reduce the level of control.

Even before the recent surge in remote work as a result of COVID-19 (US Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2020), there has been a growing trend of employees working from home either entirely (i.e., remote) or working from home a couple of days per week (i.e., telecommuting) (Minton-Eversole, 2012). The goal of the current research is to investigate what type of individuals prefer these types of flexible working arrangements. Specifically, how individual autonomy causality orientation (i.e., ACO, the desire to individuals to act based on their internal volitions) interacts with workplace variables (i.e., workplace location and task interdependence) to impact individual’s perceptions of how the job fulfills their needs (i.e., needs supplies fit, NS fit). Further, how will needs supplies fit (i.e., NS fit) impact important behaviors as part of the job search process such as job attraction. To provide a sample that is more representative of a working population, all participants were employed for an average of at least 20 hours a week. In the current study, individuals were randomly assigned to one of six vignettes in a 2 (i.e., high/low task interdependence) x 3 (i.e., traditional office/telecommute/remote) experimental between-subjects design. Data was collected using an online survey via MTurk. Correlational analysis and hierarchical regression analysis were used to assess this model and compare the relationships between autonomy causality orientation, needs supplies fit, and job attraction in relation to the experimental conditions for workplace location and task interdependence. The current study results suggest those scoring low on ACO tend to perceive moderate levels of NS fit regardless of the job environment conditions. Yet those high on ACO may be more likely to perceive NS fit when presented with job environment conditions that allow high interactions with others as part of their work (i.e., high task interdependence) or virtual work environments (i.e., telecommuting and remote). The positive relationship between job attraction and NS fit individual perceptions of having individual needs supplied by may help to attract more applicants.