The construction sector is one of the most important industries for the economy in Sweden. Between 2010 to November of 2020, there has been an increase in employment in the construction industry by 35.4 percent. In 2019 the Swedish construction sector was valued at EUR 53.3 billion, where the construction sub-sector makes up 47.6 percent (European Construction Sector Observatory - Country profile Sweden, 2020).  The construction industry is a fundamental part of society, whereas labor productivity, which represents the quantity of work performed per hour (Park 2006), is a vital element in the process of construction. Gunduz et al. (2020) state that labor consumes a significant amount of cost in construction projects, thus labor productivity is a determinator of cost optimization i.e., the process of making something as good or effective as possible (Cambridge Online Dictionary, n.d.). The benefit of productivity is seen as reduced construction time and cost (Fox, Marsh & Cockerham, 2010). Moreover, a lack of effective management activity towards construction resources can potentially decrease labor productivity. Thus, the familiarity of project managers with labor productivity factors is of major importance (Shehata & El-Gohary, 2011) and contributes to project success (Gunduz & Abu-Hijleh, 2020).

Bakgrund: Ett allt mer gränslöst arbetsliv breder ut sig över flera branscher på svensk arbetsmarknad. Organisationers flexibilitetsformer och flexibla arbetsätt, skapar nya utmaningar för en pressad organisatorisk nyckelgrupp, cheferna. Under hög arbetsbelastning och stress, kan cheferna vara i behov av Work Life Balance för att uppräthålla god hälsa och fortsatt produktivitet samt få ett HR-stöd för att hantera arbetslivet. I en kontext av Covid-19, har det gränslösa arbetslivet accelerarat och skapar den nuvarande kontexten där kunskapen om chefers Work Life Balance behöver bli mer omfattande i Sverige.  Syfte: Tiilsammans med induktivt och tolkande perspektiv, beskriva hur chefer upplever Work Life Balance i en kontext av Covid-19. Metod: Studien har bedrivits med en induktiv ansats där empirin och inte toerin, ligger till grund för studien. Iklädda endast våra förkunskaper under vår tid på HR-programmet, har studien genomförts i en ingående fallstudie med nio chefer som genom kvalitativa semistrukturerade intervjuer åskådliggjort varierande upplevelser av chefer Work Life Balance.  Slutsatser: Utifrån studiens syfte, påvisar vi att merparten av cheferna i studien, upplever en god Work Life Balance utifrån varje chefs egen verklighet som genomsyras av unika individualiteter. Därutöver, har vi brutit ner faktorer som påverkar chefers av Work Life Balance genom en individuell och organisatorisk kontext samt påvisat att HR inte är en primär källa av stöd för chefers Work Life Balance och slutligen, identifierat hur chefer hanterar Work Life Balance. Överlag har Covid-19 inte haft en större inverkan på cheferna i vår studie. Vidare, kan vi konstatera att cheferna har genom sina erfaranheter och egen medvetenhet, personfierat sin egen Work Life Balance genom exempelvis brist på stöd av HR-avdelningarna och således hittat andra vägar för att skapa Work Life Balance. / Background: An increasingly more bounderless type of work-life are expanding over multiple industries on the Swedish labour-market. New organization-forms of flexibility and new ways of structuring work, creates new challenges for a pressured key organizational group, the managers. With high workload and stress, managers may be in the need of Work Life Balance to maintain good health and continued productivity as wells as HR support to manage their work-life. In the context of Covid-19, the bounderless work-life accelerates and creates the current context where the knowledge about manager´s Work Life Balance needs to be more extensive in Sweden.  Purpose: Combined with an inductive and interpretative perspective, describe how managers experiences Work Life Balance in a context of Covid-19.  Method: This study has been conductecwith an inductive approach where the empirical and not the theoretical, is the basis for this study. Dressed in only our prior knowledge during our time on the HR-program, the study was conductted in a case-study with nine manager´s who thorugh qualitative sem-structured interviews illustrates varying experiences of manager´s Work Life Balance.  Conclusions: Based on the purpose of this study, we demonstrate that a major part of the managers have an overall good Work Life Balance based on each manager´s own reality which is permeated by the uniqueness of each manager. Moreover, we have broken down factors that affects manager´s experiences of Work Life Balance from an individual and organizational context as well as examined that HR is not a primary resource of support to manager´s Work Life Balance and finally, identified how manager´s manage their Work Life Balance. Overall, there is no impending effect that Covid-19 has had on manager´s Work Life Balance. Furthermore, we can state that managers have thorugh their experience and own awareness, personfied their own Work Life Balance caused by example lack of support from HR, find other ways into create Work Life Balance.

Due to the covid-19 pandemic, the world of remote work exploded. This study investigates how remote work affect employee productivity. The data is collected through a web-based questionnaire where Swedish employees and managers respond to questions related to remote work productivity. There are some previous studies of the topic, based on data from other countries. However, studies covering the Swedish market are limited, whereas this thesis contributes to that knowledge gap. The study includes the independent variables desire to work remotely, age, family situation, gender, educational background, collaboration, and support from management, to recognize what factors have an impact on employee productivity as dependent variable. The results indicate that both employees and managers recognize an average increase in employee productivity, where the factors desire to work remote, age and family situation are found to have a significant impact on productivity. Furthermore, the study also found that the vast majority of workers prefer a hybrid work solution where 40-60% is conducted remotely to utilize the benefits of both options.

Problem statement – The strategic roles and responsibilities of professional middle managers (at a South African university) are not aligned with the accountability and authority required while strategising to effect strategic change. Through an in-depth exploration of practitioners, their practices, behaviour, cognition and emotions during strategising, insights in the development of practical wisdom was gained. Purpose – The purpose of the empirical research study was to investigate how professional middle managers strategise to effect change during strategic change. The study context was a South African higher education institution undergoing internal organisational change. Four main research themes were explored with particular reference to the professional middle manager as a strategic practitioner, namely one who DOES, THINKS, FEELS and REFLECTS. Design, methodology and approach – An explorative and interpretive study was conducted utilising a single case and qualitative research methodology. An interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) was conducted, which aimed to explore the rich experiences of the participants and the way they make sense of their personal journeys during the strategic change initiative. Strategy as practice theory was selected as the theoretical foundation for the study. In-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted, and participants provided self-reflection assessments contributing to a unique data gathering method. Findings – The results suggested the professional middle managers make use of holistic and comprehensive practices to effect change as they strategise during strategic change. Five formal strategic roles were confirmed relevant as enacted by the professional middle managers, i.e. implementing strategies, interpreting and communicating information, facilitating adaptability, downward supporting and upward influencing. In addition, six distinctive practices were identified, namely adapting, effecting change, collaborating, mobilising, peacekeeping and overseeing. v Research limitations and implications – The results of the study cannot be generalised due to the single case methodology; however, key learnings and insights can be utilised. Practical implications – It is recommended that the middle managers’ key performance indicators be aligned with the required accountability and authority required to fulfil their strategic roles while effecting change. In addition, the development of tailor-made training programmes as well as coaching and mentoring is advocated in order to transition adequately into a middle management role. / Graduate School of Business Leadership / D.B.L.