Work motivation has been a topic of significance for a very long time, however, since there has been a recent shift towards remote work, traditional motivational theories might need to be reconsidered and applied to the new way of working. The self-determination theory (SDT) is one of many motivational theories, which says that once the three basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness are reached, individuals will experience high amounts of motivation. In order to dive deeper into the topic of motivation in remote work, the purpose of our study is therefore to explore this area of research by examining how managerial support measures could be aimed at ensuring the feeling of autonomy, competence and relatedness, and in turn manage to possibly sustain motivation among remote workers.  With the aim of reaching and fulfilling the purpose of this study, in-depth interviews were conducted with five remote workers working in start-ups or SMEs within the IT sectors, or within companies with a digital focus. The data which we collected through interviews was then thematically analysed by careful coding and put into a variety of themes. Following the presentation of our findings was a meticulous analysis of the generated data, which was the base for our final conclusions drawn on the subject.  From the findings, we were able to conclude that autonomy achieved high scores in remote work, and was without exceptions fulfilled for all of our interview subjects. Within competence, the most challenges were detected, however the right supporting measures, like facilitating information sharing, would be able to work against these issues. Lastly, relatedness is oftentimes severely lacking within remote work due to the implied distance, however due to conscious choices to work remotely, individuals will be aware of decreasing relatedness when they start their journey of working remotely. Nonetheless, supporting measures like organising social gatherings or workshops, can limit the lack of feeling relatedness in the remote workplace.  This study can assist future researchers that are conducting studies within the growing remote work environment. Furthermore, it can help managers in the workplace to gain an updated view on motivation in remote working, and shift perspective to remotely adapted supporting measures.

Syftet med studien är att undersöka hybridarbetets påverkan på work-life balance utifrån småbarnsföräldrars upplevelse av vad som sker när sfärerna arbetsliv och privatliv flyter samman och gränsdragningarna tenderar att suddas ut. Fokus ligger på att ta reda på hur deltagarna i studien definierar begreppet work-life balance samt vilka potentiella möjligheter och utmaningar det finns med att segmentera respektive integrera sfärerna arbetsliv och privatliv. Resultatet har samlats in genom åtta semistrukturerade kvalitativa intervjuer. En abduktiv förståelseansats och ett hermeneutiskt förhållningssätt har tillämpats. För att analysera resultatet har teorier om gränser, flexibilitet och konflikter, segmentering och integrering samt krav, resurser och stöd använts. Det huvudsakliga resultatet visar att en optimal kombination av arbetsliv och privatliv är högst individuellt och preferenserna skiljer sig åt mellan deltagarna. Det som däremot inte skiljer sig åt är den positiva attityd som samtliga har till hybridarbete som ses som en viktig förutsättning för att sfärerna ska kunna balanseras och manövreras. Med ett flexibelt arbete framkommer ett flertal möjligheter som bland annat berör tid och plats för utförande av arbetet men också utmaningar med bland annat social samvaro, gränsdragning och återhämtning. / The aim of this study is to investigate the impact of hybrid work on work-life balance based on the experience of parents of young children, focusing on the aspect of what happens when the spheres of work life and private life merge and the boundaries tend to blur. The focus is on understanding how the participants in this study define the concept of work-life balance and what opportunities and challenges may occur by segmenting or integrating the spheres of work life and private life. The results have been collected through eight semi-structured qualitative interviews. An abductive understanding approach and a hermeneutic approach have been used. To analyze the results, theories about boundaries, flexibility and conflicts, segmentation and integration as well as requirements, resources and support have been used. The main result shows that an optimal combination of work life and private life is highly individual and the preferences differ between participants. What does not differ, however, is the positive attitude expressed towards hybrid work as an important prerequisite for the spheres to be balanced and maneuvered. Along with flexible work several opportunities arise which, among other things, concern time and place for carrying out the work, but also challenges regarding aspects such as team building, boundary setting and time for recovery.

Syfte: Studien har ett tvådelat syfte. Den första delen av syftet är att undersöka hur flexibelt arbete påverkar jobbtillfredsställelse, inkludering och mångfald. Den andra delen av syftet är att undersöka hur inkludering och mångfald påverkar jobbtillfredsställelse. Följande forskningsfrågor besvaras: -Hur påverkar flexibelt arbete jobbtillfredsställelse?-Hur påverkar flexibelt arbete inkludering och mångfald?-Hur påverkar inkludering och mångfald jobbtillfredsställelse?  Metod: Denna studie bygger på en kvantitativ metod med ett deduktivt tillvägagångssätt, där en enkätundersökning via olika kanaler legat till grund för insamlingen av data. Populationen av studien är anställda som jobbar på företag med flexibla arbetsarrangemang i Sverige, med 132 respondenter. Undersökningen av data har skett genom statistikprogrammet ‘’JASP’’, där en bivariat korrelationsanalys utförts.  Resultat och slutsats: Resultatet av studien har visat att flexibelt arbete inte har någon korrelation till jobbtillfredställelse. Vidare visar resultatet även att flexibelt arbete inte heller har någon korrelation till inkludering och mångfald. Dessa fynd ligger inte i linje med vad tidigare forskning kommit fram till. Slutligen har studien påvisat att inkludering och mångfald har en stark korrelation till jobbtillfredsställelse vilket tidigare forskning även påvisat. Slutsatsen som dragits är att studiens utformning, och de respondenter som deltagit, skiljer sig i flera aspekter från tidigare studier.  Examensarbetets bidrag: Studiens bidrag är en ökad förståelse för effekterna som flexibelt arbete har, samt hur inkludering och mångfald kan påverka jobbtillfredsställelsen. Det praktiska bidraget denna studie genererar är ett verktyg i form av en enkätundersökning, som beslutsfattare i olika instanser kan använda sig av för att se hur de anställda upplever mångfald och inkludering på sin arbetsplats.  Förslag till fortsatt forskning: En förståelse kring hur de olika dimensioner kring flexibelt arbete påverkar jobbtillfredställelse är fortsatt outforskat och vi ser att denna riktning kan bidra till en ökad förståelse för ämnet. Vidare ser även att framtida forskning kan beröra mer detaljerat kring hur de olika dimensionerna av flexibelt arbete påverkar inkluderingen inom organisationer. Vi föreslår även en framtida inriktning på ledarskapets betydelse vid flexibelt arbete. / Purpose: The study has a twofold purpose. The first part of the aim is to investigate how flexible working affects job satisfaction, inclusion and diversity. The second part of the aim is to investigate how inclusion and diversity affect job satisfaction. The following research questions are answered: -How does flexible work affect job satisfaction?-How does flexible work affect inclusion and diversity?-How does inclusion and diversity affect job satisfaction?  Method: This study is based on a quantitative method with a deductive approach, where a survey through various channels was the basis for the collection of data. The population of the study is employees who work at companies with flexible work arrangements in Sweden, with 132 respondents. The examination of the data has taken place through the statistics program "JASP", where a bivariate correlation analysis was performed.  Results and conclusion: The results of the study have shown that flexible working has no correlation to job satisfaction. Furthermore, the result also shows that flexible working has no correlation to inclusion and diversity either. These findings are not in line with what previous research has concluded. Finally, the study has shown that inclusion and diversity have a strong correlation to job satisfaction, which previous research has also shown. The conclusion drawn is that the design of our study, and the respondents who participated, differ in several aspects from previous studies.  Contribution of the thesis: The study's contribution is an increased understanding of the effects that flexible working has, as well as how inclusion and diversity can affect job satisfaction. The practical contribution this study generates is a tool in the form of a survey, which decision-makers in various instances can use to see how the employees experience diversity and inclusion in their workplace.  Suggestions for further research: An understanding of how the different dimensions of flexible work affect job satisfaction is still unexplored, and we believe that this direction can contribute to an increased understanding of the subject. Furthermore, we also see that future research can touch in more detail on how the different dimensions of flexible work affect inclusion within organizations. We also propose a future focus on the importance of leadership in flexible work.

The coronavirus was declared a health emergency in 2020, which led to many employers let their employees work from home to decrease the virus. After the restrictions regarding working from home were removed, some people continued to work from home for a few days a week and spent the other days at the office, which is today called the hybrid solution. As the hybridly way of working is relatively new, there is a lack of research on how the employees perceive the mix of working from the office and home. In order to recruit and retain employees, it can be essential to know if the hybrid solution is perceived as an advantage or disadvantage. Therefore, this thesis explains how the employees perceive the hybrid solution, with the perspective of how it affects their motivation, well-being, and group dynamics. The study is going to answer the research question: If offering a hybrid solution to work is attractive to prospective employees, how does the opportunity to work hybridly affect their motivation, well-being and group dynamics and consequently organizational retention? Based on that, the theoretical framework has come into existence that connects the different themes: of motivation, social identity theory, and talent management into the research. It is a qualitative study with ten semi-structured interviews. The respondents have answered how they perceive the hybrid solution and its effects from their perspective. After the execution of the interviews, we analyzed the material and connected it to previous studies and the theoretical framework. In the analysis, we focus on the outcome of our interviews connected to concepts such as social identity theory, Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, Herzberg’s two-factor theory, the equity model, extrinsic and intrinsic motivation, and talent management strategy.The findings are that the employees find the hybrid solution as an advantage but that it is not required for them in order to be motivated and feel satisfied with their employers. Employees working remotely today would feel dissatisfied if the opportunity were taken away. Moreover, from the social perspective, work groups must often meet to have great work dynamics.

The aim of the study is to study how the employees at a public sector organization have perceived the implementation of mediated communications during remote work, due to Covid-19. This studies the current situation of the transition in time which made it possible to include both the remote work and current state in which restrictions regarding remote work are lifted. This in relation to organizational culture and organizational communication. To study this, the theoretical framework of communicative figurations by Hepp and Hasebrink (2018) and organizational culture by Schein and Schein (2017) was used. Data from interviews with six employees at a public sector organization in Sweden and organizational documents was collected and analyzed with a qualitative content analysis. The main result of the study is based on employees' perception. The results show that organizational culture has changed in terms of changing norms and behaviors in the organization. The implementation of digital tools and mediated communication in the organization have been perceived to increase availability and a change in how to communicate in an acceptable way. This includes both employees and leaders. Employees have perceived remote work and the technological switch in some aspect’s problematic, although to a large extent interviewees have expressed a willingness to continue working from home in the future.

In the context of Covid-19, significant changes have occurred in the way people work. This qualitative study investigates how individuals working in agile software development have been affected by the transition to remote work as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. Using thematic analysis and a comparative case study as the methodology, the study focuses on areas such as communication, collaboration, cohesion, performance, and outcomes. A summary of the results from the semi-structured interviews in this study reveals that the transition to remote work has not had a negative impact on the outcomes in agile software development. These findings suggest that despite the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic, agile teams have been able to maintain their high levels of performance and results despite the shift to remote work. These conclusions can assist organizations in developing effective strategies to manage and adapt to changes in the work environment, including the transition to remote work.

Remote work has significantly grown in recent decades, facilitated by technological advancements that allow work outside the employer's premises. This shift has blurred the boundaries between work and personal life, giving rise to questions regarding Work-Life balance in remote work.  Previous research has primarily been quantitative, providing limited insight into employees' experiences. Hence, this qualitative study aims to investigate the experiences of work-life balance in remote work among office-based employees in a municipality in central Sweden.  Data was collected through semi-structured interviews with eight participants and analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Three main categories emerged: "Better compatibility with personal time," "Challenges establishing boundaries but potentially improved work performance," and "Transformed relationships." The main theme was "Remote work can enhance personal time, family life, and individual work performance, but requires strong boundary-setting skills and hinders informal learning."  The findings reveal that remote work is compatible with personal time and generates a productive work environment for those who can work from home uninterrupted. Not meeting colleagues daily minimizes distractions, but also affects informal learning negatively. Participants described remote work as advantageous for family life. However, the risk of overwork is perceived to be higher, underscoring the importance of developing strategies to establish Work-Life balance. / Distansarbete är en arbetsform som ökat drastiskt under de senaste decennierna, bland annat i takt med att tekniken utvecklats och gjort det möjligt att utföra många arbeten utanför arbetsgivarens lokaler. Detta har medfört att gränsen mellan arbete och fritid har förändrats, vilket väcker en fråga om Work-Life balance vid distansarbete. Tidigare forskning har främst haft en kvantitativ ansats, men det finns desto mindre kvalitativ forskning där ingående information om medarbetares upplevelser framgår.  Denna studies syfte är att undersöka upplevelser av Work-Life balance vid distansarbete bland kontorsanställda medarbetare på en kommun i Mellansverige.  Datainsamlingen har genomförts genom digitala semi-strukturerade intervjuer med åtta respondenter och data har analyserats genom kvalitativ innehållsanalys, vilket har mynnat ut i kategorierna: ”Mer kompatibelt med fritiden”, ”Utmaningar med gränssättning men möjlighet till ökade förutsättningar för arbetsprestation” och ”Förändrar relationer”. Temat blev ”Distansarbete kan vara mer gynnsamt för fritiden, familjen och individuell arbetsprestation men ställer högre krav på individuell gränssättningsförmåga och hämmar det informella lärandet”.  Resultatet visar att distansarbete är mer kompatibelt med fritiden samt gynnande för arbetsro och effektivitet för de som har förutsättningar att arbeta hemifrån ostört. Det upplevs också finnas både för- och nackdelar med att få distans till kollegorna – man blir mindre distraherad, men går miste om informellt lärande. Distansarbete beskrivs som underlättande för familjelivet. Risken för överarbete upplevs öka vid distansarbete, så utvecklingen av strategier för gränssättning mellan arbete och fritid beskrivs som central för Work-Life balance.

The covid-19 crisis accelerated the remote work trend and led to a new landscape in business. This sudden shift posed unique challenges for managers and middle managers in particular. Forcing them to adapt their leadership styles and lead their teams remotely. This paper explores the challenges for middle managers imposed by remote work and what is required of them to address them. This is done through a case study on a company's accounting department that has managed to transition to remote successfully. The research takes an inductive, qualitative approach using semi-structural interviews with three middle managers as a data collection method. The challenges are grouped into the themes of communication, team building, trust, technology, management of change, and social aspects. The study concludes that even though some challenges for the middle managers were present in all areas, their teams were well suited for a shift to remote. This was mainly due to low task interdependence, and high self-leadership. Social challenges required regular attention, even though the daily operations worked smoothly.

Covid-Pandemin i början av 2020 har på ett eller annat sätt påverkat och begränsat hur anställda arbetar. Flera förändringar har skett som att företag med förutsättningarna förlagt arbetet till de anställdas hem. Detta har bidragit till att spontana interaktioner minskat, nya arbetsmetoder har formats och nya verktyg lanserats. Denna nya situation har medfört en rad utmaningar och möjligheter kring hur anställda samarbetar och delar kunskap kring kundbehov. Syftet med uppsatsen har varit att undersöka hur mjukvaruföretag har anpassat metoder, aktiviteter och arbetsprocesser vid utvecklingsarbetet av mjukvara. Syftet besvaras genom att utreda processerna vid krav och behovsanalys samt till att kartlägga samarbetsverktyg, arbetssituationen hemifrån, interaktioner inom projektgruppen samt vilka möjligheter och hinder som finns vid kontakt med kunder. En kvalitativ intervjustudie genomfördes på två mjukvaruföretag med sex informanter inom olika roller i en projektgrupp med tre krav: att de arbetat på distans under pandemin, att de har kundkontakt samt är involverade i utveckling av mjukvara.  Resultatet visar att distansen leder till möjligheter i kombinationen arbets- och privatliv exempelvis ingen restid, lättare att planera in aktiviteter som barnlämning och hämtning. Vidare pekar resultatet på utmaningar och svårigheter i digitala interaktioner mellan arbetskollegor och kunder som att det exempelvis är svårt att tolka kroppsspråk, ansiktsuttryck och tystnad samt att spontana interaktioner minskat. Utmaningarna leder till att det kan bli svårt att uppfatta tyst kunskap vilket kan påverka arbetet med kravanalys och i sin tur slutprodukten.  Resultatet analyserades genom att betrakta hur kunskap kring kundbehov skapas exempelvis vilka metoder som används samt vilka förutsättningar som projektgruppen lever upp till för framgångsrik kunskapsdelning på distans. Analysen visar att den ökade användningen av digitala verktyg har skapat en social acceptans för digitala möten vilket resulterat i frekvent kontakt med kund samt skapande av mer underlag som exempelvis inspelade möten. När arbetet sker uteslutande via digitala verktyg kan fler roller involveras tidigare i utvecklingsprocessen. Då kommunikationen sker digitalt kan en minskning i förståelse för kundens behov upplevas då exempelvis informella möten inte längre sker samt att metoder som observationer inte längre används. Projektgrupper bör anpassa sig för att möta utmaningarna som distansen medför genom att exempelvis minst en gång om dagen träffa kollegorna i digitala träffar i syfte att ingen ska känna sig ensam och för att stärka samhörigheten. Digitala intervjuer och återkoppling med kund sker oftare och leder till ökad mängd lagrad data som exempelvis inspelningar och mötesanteckningar. Ökningen behöver hanteras i syfte att den blir lättillgänglig för projektmedlemmar. Vidare försöker projektgrupper anpassa sig till minskningen av fysiska interaktioner genom att aktiviteter som observationer och workshops inte längre används. / The Covid-Pandemic at the beginning of 2020 has in one way or another affected and limited how employees work. Changes such as companies with the possibility relocating the work to the employees' homes, changes in spontaneous interactions, new working methods have been formed and new tools have been launched. This new situation has led to several challenges and opportunities regarding how employees collaborate and share knowledge about customer needs. The purpose of the thesis has been to investigate how software companies have adapted methods, activities and work processes. The purpose is answered by investigating the processes for requirements and needs analysis and for mapping collaboration tools, the work situation from home, interactions within the project group and the opportunities and obstacles that exist in contact with customers. A qualitative interview study was conducted at two software companies with six informants in different roles with three requirements: that they worked remotely during the pandemic, that they have customer contact and are involved in software development. The results show that distance work leads to opportunities in the combination of work and private life, for example no travel time and easier planning of picking up children from school. Furthermore, the results point to challenges and difficulties in digital interactions between work colleagues and customers in that, for example, it is difficult to interpret body language, facial expressions and silence and that spontaneous interactions have decreased. The challenges lead to becoming difficult to perceive tacit knowledge, which can affect the work with requirements analysis and in turn the product.  The results were analysed by considering how knowledge about customer needs is created, for example which methods are used and which conditions the project group lives up to for successful knowledge sharing at a distance. The analysis shows that the increased use of digital tools has created a social acceptance for digital meetings, which has resulted in frequent contact with customers and the creation of more data in the form of, for example, recorded meetings. When the work is done exclusively with digital tools, more roles can be involved earlier in the development process. When communication takes place digitally, a reduction in understanding of the customer's needs can be experienced when, for example, informal meetings no longer take place and methods such as observations are no longer used. Project groups should adapt to meet the challenges posed by the distance by, for example, meeting colleagues in digital meetings at least once a day for no one to feel alone and to strengthen cohesion. Digital interviews and customer feedback take place more often and lead to an increased amount of stored data in the form of, for example, recordings and meeting notes. The increase in data needs to be managed for it to be easily accessible to project members. Furthermore, project groups try to adapt to the reduction in understanding and perception of tacit knowledge by no longer using activities such as observations and workshops.

Det har skett en stor ökning av distansarbetet i samband med Covid-19 pandemin. Ekonomyrket är ett av de yrken som har haft möjlighet till denna omställning från kontorsarbete till distansarbete. Att arbeta på distans ställer prov på den anställde och dennes motivation.  Syftet med studien är att bidra till förståelsen för hur redovisningsekonomer upplevt omställningen från traditionellt kontorsjobb till distansarbete och hur det har påverkat arbetsmotivationen.  För att uppnå studiens syfte har en kvalitativ metod använts där tio redovisningsekonomer i södra Sverige intervjuades. Empirin analyserades sedan med koppling till Self-determination theory och Herzbergs tvåfaktorsteori för att besvara frågeställningarna.  Studiens visar att det har varit en stor omställning av arbetsmiljön för redovisningsekonomer vid distansarbete. Det har visat en stor påverkan på arbetsmiljön och således på motivationen, där inre motivationsfaktorer var av större vikt vid arbete på distans. / There has been a large increase in telework due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The economist is one of the professions that has had the opportunity for this transition from office work to telework. Teleworking presents challenges to the employee and his motivation. The purpose of this study is to contribute to the understanding of how economists have experienced the transition from traditional office work to telework and how it has affected their work motivation. To achieve the purpose of the study, a qualitative method was used where ten accounting economists in southern Sweden were interviewed. The empiric was then analyzed in connection with Self-determination theory and Herzberg's two-factor theory to answer the questions. The study shows that there has been a major change in the work environment for accounting economists in teleworking. It has shown a great impact on the work environment and thus on motivation, where internal motivational factors were of greater importance when working at a distance.