Background: Sudden change in work routine, as a response to the Covid-19 pandemic, disrupted the historic patterns and created phenomena where people were forced to work remotely for a long-term period. Even when the restrictions were eased after the pandemic, business-as-usual concerning workplace was challenged since employees did not want to return to their 9-5 jobs. Therefore, employers are forced to rethink their legacy approach concerning where and when work can be conducted. Research Problem: With both employees and employers mutually convinced about the need for redefining how work can be executed, in parallel with negative correlation existing between extensive remote work and employee engagement, calls for exploring alternative flexible working arrangements. Research Purpose: In the context where neither extensive remote work nor fully on-site setups are perceived as the optimal workplace solutions after the Covid-19 pandemic, a hybrid approach may provide middle-ground, ideally combing the positive elements from both home- and corporate office workplaces, resulting in an enhanced employee engagement. Hence, the purpose is to understand how hybrid workplace impacts employee engagement. Research Question: What are the implications of hybrid workplace on employee engagement? Research Method: This research is qualitative and inductive, following relativism ontology and social constructionism epistemology. Grounded Theory as methodology, and data collected through 12 semi-structured interviews, concluded with grounded analysis to conduct interpretation and analysis.  Conclusion: The outcome of this study confirms that employee engagement is affected by hybrid approach as a workplace arrangement, either positively or negatively, dependent on conditions how hybrid approach is configured and implemented. Hybrid workplace elements which impact employee engagement were identified and are presented in this paper.

Bakgrund: Studien handlar om hur hybridarbete har påverkat arbetet på lokala bankkontor i Sverige under de senaste åren och chefers roll i att anpassa sig till denna förändring. Hybridarbete definieras som en flexibel arbetsform där anställda kan arbeta både på distans och på plats på kontoret. Covid-19 pandemin har påskyndat införandet av distansarbete och lett till en ökning av hybridarbete, vilket har förändrat hur människor arbetar. Inom banker har det traditionellt sett funnits en hög grad av fysisk närvaro på kontoret, vilket gör att det kombinerade arbetet kan ha en stor påverkan på branschen. Studien fokuserar på hur 10 chefer på olika lokala bankkontor har anpassat sig de nya ledarskapsutmaningar som uppstått till följd av ökningen av hybridarbete, såsom en uppluckring av gränsen mellan arbetsliv och privatliv samt-, stress och utmaningar i ledarskapet gällande att skapa teamsammanhållning och en fungerande kommunikation. Syfte: Studien avser att skapa förståelse samt undersöka ledarskapsutmaningar i den hybrida arbetsplatskontexten samt analysera hur chefer på lokala bankkontor i Sverige hanterar dessa utmaningar. Metod: Studien baseras på en kvalitativ metod med semistrukturerade intervjuer. Intervjuerna genomfördes med tio chefer från lokala bankkontor runt om i Sverige. Den kvalitativa metoden lämpar sig bäst då de deltagande kan ge sina perspektiv kring ledarskapsutmaningar och hur de hanteras av cheferna. Resultat: Studien identifierade ledarskapsutmaningar i den hybrida arbetsplatskontexten inom lokala bankkontor inklusive kommunikation, teamsammanhållning, teamets effektivitet, teknologi och Work-life Balance. Cheferna hanterade dessa utmaningar genom att införa digitala kommunikationsverktyg, organisera virtuella möten och aktiviteter för att främja teamsammanhållning samt möjlighet till fysiska möten och kompetensutveckling. Slutsats: För att framgångsrikt hantera utmaningarna med hybridarbete i banksektorn betonar studien vikten av att chefer investerar i digitala verktyg, kommunicerar tydligt, balanserar arbete och privatliv samt skapar en stöttande arbetsmiljö. Genom att anpassa sitt ledarskap och vidta åtgärder för att möta dessa utmaningar kan chefer skapa en effektiv och välfungerande hybrid arbetsmiljö som främjar välbefinnande och produktivitet hos sina medarbetare. / Background: The study is about how hybrid work has affected the work at local bank offices in Sweden in recent years and the role of managers in adapting to this change. Hybrid work is defined as a flexible form of work where employees can work both remotely and on site in the office. The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated the adoption of remote working and led to an increase in hybrid working, which has changed the way people work. Within banks, there has traditionally been a high degree of physical presence in the office, which means that the combined work can have a large impact on the industry. The study focuses on how 10 managers at different local bank branches have adapted to the new leadership challenges that have arisen as a result of the increase in hybrid work, such as a loosening of the boundary between work and private life as well as, stress and leadership challenges related to creating team cohesion and effective communication. Purpose: The study intends to create understanding and investigate leadership challenges in the hybrid workplace context and analyze how managers at local bank offices in Sweden handle these challenges. Method: The study is based on a qualitative method with semi-structured interviews. The interviews were conducted with ten managers from local bank offices around Sweden. The qualitative method is best suited as the participants can give their perspective on leadership challenges and how they are handled by the managers. Result: The study identified leadership challenges in the hybrid workplace context within local bank branches including communication, team cohesion, team effectiveness, technology and work-life balance. Managers addressed these challenges by introducing digital communication tools, organizing virtual meetings and activities to promote team cohesion, as well as opportunities for physical meetings and skill development. Conclusion: To successfully manage the challenges of hybrid working in the banking sector, the study emphasizes the importance of managers investing in digital tools, communicating clearly, balancing work and personal life and creating a supportive work environment. By adapting their leadership and taking action to meet these challenges, managers can create an effective and efficient hybrid work environment that promotes the well-being and productivity of their employees.

Research question: How does hybrid work, regulated and unregulated, influence the intrinsic motivation of employees within knowledge-intensive organizations in Sweden? Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore employees experiences and perceptions of intrinsic workplace motivation with implemented hybrid work arrangements. Additionally, it seeks to compare two groups of workers: with mandatory work regulations and without.  Method: The thesis was formed by a qualitative research method where the empirical data was collected through semi-structured interviews with knowledge-intensive employees from different companies. This paper also discusses the prevalent theoretical frameworks in motivation. Conclusion: In both sample groups, fulfillment of autonomy as a psychological need is a prerequisite for relatedness and self-perceived competence. Relatedness is better met in the group with mandatory days at the office, whilst in the unregulated group this need was not fully satisfied. No major differences between the groups were noted in terms of self-perceived competence. Both groups expressed satisfaction of this need, and there was no strong indication saying it was influenced by hybrid work arrangements. Overall, regulated hybrid work settings were found to have a positive influence on intrinsic motivation.

De tekniska aspekterna saknas idag inom många ramverk inom hybrid arbetsmodelltrots att de är viktiga för övergången från fysiskt till helt eller delvis distansarbete.Covid-19 pandemin har medfört att många företag varit tvungna att ställa om frånfysiskt till distansarbete. Vilket har lett till att vissa företag har haft det svårare änandra.Syftet med uppsatsen är att undersöka vilka tekniska aspekter som kan underlättaövergången från fysiskt kontor till helt eller delvis distansarbete. Med hjälp avintervjuer, tidigare forskning samt existerande ramverk så kommer nya tekniskaaspekter att presenteras och delas in i kategorierna teknik och organisation. Uppsatsenhar till avsikt att genomföra en kvalitativ datainsamling, datainsamlingen skeddegenom kvalitativa intervjuer. Informanterna som intervjuades arbetar inom ITbranschen.Det empiriska resultatet presenterar informanternas svar i olika kategorier såsomteknik, arbetsmiljö och hybrid arbetsmodell. Detta visade bland annat flera olikatekniska aspekter samt att informanterna föredrar en hybrid arbetsmodell.Vidare efter det empiriska resultatet så genomfördes en analys. Analysen visade attdet finns värde i att med hjälp av digital transformation implementera de tekniskaaspekterna i ett hybrid arbetssättramverk. Vidare visade analysen att hybrid ettarbetssätt kommer vara en del av ett framtida arbetssätt.Det empiriska resultatet ställdes mot den tidigare forskningen där det visade sig attflera av punkterna i tidigare forskning till viss del stämmer överens med vadinformanterna berättade.Sammanfattningsvis presenteras flera olika förbättringsförslag vad gäller teknik ochorganisation till framtida ramverk. Dessa förslagen är kompletterande till existeranderamverk och ska inte ses som en ersättning för ramverken.

I och med omställningen som hybridarbete bidragit till, så som att arbeta tre dagar på kontoret och två dagar på distans, har frågan väckts kring hur medarbetare hanterat gränsdragningen mellan arbete och privatliv, återhämtning och sjukfrånvaro. Dessutom har en ny typ av ledarskap efterfrågats från medarbetare och studien utgå därför från medarbetarnas behov och förväntningar kring hur ledare ska hantera en hybrid arbetsgrupp. Studiens frågeställningar handlar om hur medarbetare upplever gränsdragning mellan privat- och arbetsliv samt möjligheten till återhämtning och sjukfrånvaro på en hybrid arbetsplats och hur medarbetare upplever att ledarskapet kan främja gränsdragning. Syftet med studien är alltså att få en större förståelse för hur medarbetare hanterar aspekterna kring gränsdragning och hur ledarskapet kan bidra till detta. Empirin har samlats in genom semistrukturerade intervjuer där urvalet bestod av tjänstemän inom den offentliga sektorn. Studien utgår från medarbetarnas perspektiv och har med hjälp av de valda teorierna bidragit till en djupare förståelse för deras förhållningssätt till den hybrida arbetsplatsen. Genom teorierna har resultatet analyserats och sammanställningen visar att medarbetare upplever ett behov av tydligare riktlinjer kring det nya arbetssättet för att enklare kunna göra en gränsdragning. Dessutom visar resultatet att medarbetare behöver ett ledarskap som anpassar sig efter den hybrida lösningen gällande kommunikation, rättvisefrågor och efter de individuella förutsättningarna. Ett intressant fynd var även att arbetet utfördes antingen på kontoret eller på distans beroende på arbetsuppgiftens karaktär och behovet av den sociala kontexten för individen. / With the change that hybrid work has contributed to, such as working three days in the office and two days at a distance, the question has been raised about how employees have managed to make boundaries between work and private life, recovery and sickness. In addition, a new type of leadership has been requested from employees and the study is therefore based on the employees' needs and expectations regarding how leaders should handle a hybrid work group. The study's questions is about how employees experience the workboundaries between work and private life and the possibility of recovery and sickness in a hybrid workplace and how employees feel that leadership can promote workboundaries. The purpose of the study is to gain a greater understanding of how employees handle the aspects of workboundaries and how leadership can contribute to this. The data have been collected through semistructured interviews where the sample consisted of civil servants in the public sector. The study is based on the employees' perspective and has, with the help of the chosen theories, contributed to a perception of the employees approach to the hybrid workplace. Through the theories, the results have been analyzed and the summary shows that employees feel a need for guidelines regarding the new way of working in order to be able to establish workboundaries more easily. In addition, the results show that employees need a leadership that adapts to the hybrid solution regarding communication between employees and leaders, keeping the justice-aspect in mind and also adapts to the individual conditions. An interesting point of view was that employees chose to work either in the office or remotely depending on the nature of the task and the need for the social context.

The project was carried out as a master’s thesis at Royal Institute of Technology, in collaboration withthe kitchen designer Lucks by Robo in Stockholm, Sweden. The purpose of this project was to analyze new demands on office furniture due to hybrid work & homeworking, a result of the covid-19 pandemic. The project was also to apply findings in some type of furniture for the home. Using a human-centered design process the project was to answer the following research questions; (1) What may the future of homeworking look like? (2) What are some common challenges people have when integrating part of their office into their homes and what furniture related needs or desires have emerged? and (3) What are some new characteristics needed to consider when designing furniture for the home office and how can they be applied in the product design? The project carried out a literature study of the hybrid work structure and its future, an extensive userstudy and a brand identity analysis. The project resulted in four main insights where one of the most crucial was the product system needed for an optimal home working environment. Five different groups who represent different levels of needs were identified. Application of the findings were also made through the product development of a piece of furniture for the work environment in the home in a Scandinavian and contemporary style. With a product focus, a height adjustable table was designed to fulfil the identified, functional and aesthetic needs and characteristics for the home office. The product was adapted for the manufacturing and production of Lucks. This resulted in a height adjustable table made of HDF, using four gas springs for the height adjustable mechanism. / Projekt är ett master examensarbete utfört på KTH, Kungliga Teknisk Högskolan, i samarbete med köksföretaget Lucks by Robo, i Stockholm Sverige. Syftet med projektet är att analysera nya krav som ställs på möbelmarknad i samband med den hybrida arbetsstrukturen, mer specifikt den kraftiga ökningen av hemarbete som påverkats av covid-19 pandemin. Arbetet ska också applicera resultat i form av en möbel anpassat för hemarbetet. Med en människocentrerad designprocess skall projektet besvara följande forskningsfrågor; (1) Hur ser framtiden för hemarbete ut? (2) Vilka utmaningar uppstår då hemmet omvandlas till ett deltids kontor för hemarbetet och vilka möbelrelaterade behov och krav uppstår i samband med detta? och (3) Hur kan dessa krav och behov appliceras på en möbel för hemarbetet?Projektet utförde en litteraturstudie kring den hybrida arbetsstrukturen och dess framtid, en omfattande användarstudie och en analys av varumärkets identitet. Projektet resultera i fyra insikter, där en av de viktigaste var behovet av ett produktsystem för att optimera ett hemmakontor. Fem olika behovsgrupper av olika magnitud identifierades. Projektet applicerade även resultatet i ett produktutvecklingsarbete kring möbler för hemarbete. Detta resultera i ett produktfokus på ett höj och sänkbart bord designad föratt uppfylla identifierade krav som berörde både funktion och estetik för ett hemmakontor. Bordet är anpassad till Lucks by Robo’s produktion och tillverkning. Detta resultera i ett höj och sänkbartbord i HDF som använder sig av fyra gasfjädrar för dess höj och sänkbara funktion.

Organizations has become more hybrid enabling the workers to work partially from the office and partially from home. As remote work was found to have an impact on team collaboration, communication, productivity, and performance, concerns have been raised about Agile Software Development (ASD) teams working remotely. Thus, the purpose of the study is to understand the impact hybrid work has on productivity in ASD teams. The study aims to contribute with knowledge regarding the relationship with hybrid work and productivity. A single case study was conducted, with the use of a sequential mixed method research design. The SPACE framework was utilized to define productivity in software development and was also utilized to support the distributed survey. Moreover, three dimensions of SPACE were selected; job satisfaction, performance, collaboration and communication. Additionally, a focus group interview was conducted to provide a deeper understanding of the survey findings. The empirical findings indicate the hybrid work to impact job satisfaction, and collaboration and communication positively. While the performance was high, there was a low impact of hybrid work. The empirical findings imply that investments in the tools and resources are crucial for the job satisfaction. Furthermore, meetings that involve high participation in collaboration and communication should require physical presence. By allowing for continuous meetings regarding the well-being of workers, a sustainable work-life balance can potentially be achieved. Limitations can be found in the study where the findings are restricted to the context of a single case study. Thus, further research can be conducted to enrich the findings with other settings and strategies. / Organisationer har blivit mer hybrida vilket gör det möjligt för arbetarna att arbeta delvis från kontoret och delvis hemifrån. Eftersom distansarbete har visat en inverkan på samarbete, kommunikation, produktivitet och prestanda i team, har det väckts rädsla om att team i agil mjukvaruutveckling (ASD), ska arbeta på distans. Syftet med studien är att förstå vilken inverkan hybrid arbete har på produktiviteten i ASD-team. Studien syftar till att bidra med kunskap om sambandet med hybrid arbete och produktivitet. En enskild fallstudie genomfördes med användning av en sekventiell forskningsdesign med blandad metod. SPACE-ramverket användes för att definiera produktivitet i mjukvaruutveckling och användes dessutom för att underbygga den distribuerade undersökningen. Dessutom valdes tre dimensioner av SPACE ut; arbetsglädje, prestation, samarbete och kommunikation. Vidare genomfördes en fokusgruppsintervju för att skapa en djupare förståelse av resultaten från undersökningen. De empiriska resultaten indikerar hybrid arbetet har en positiv inverkan på arbetstillfredsställelse, samarbete och kommunikation. Det visade sig att prestandan i arbetet var hög men att hybrid arbete inte längre påverkade dess resultat. De empiriska resultaten tyder på att investeringar i verktyg och resurser är avgörande för arbetstillfredsställelsen. Dessutom bör möten med högt engagemang i samarbete och kommunikation kräva fysisk närvaro. Genom att införa kontinuerliga möten angående arbetarnas välbefinnande kan en hållbar balans mellan arbete och privatliv potentiellt uppnås. Begränsningar kan hittas i studien där resultaten är begränsade till sammanhanget för en enskild fallstudie. Således kan ytterligare forskning utföras för att berika resultaten med andra miljöer och strategier.

The Covid-19 pandemic has created sudden changes in society and in the organisational landscape where working from home practices have been applied on a large scale to reduce the spread of the virus. The restrictions from governments and changing working environments have affected people's lifestyles. Furthermore, certain countries have also initiated formal lockdowns which has not been the case in Sweden where recommendations have been given to work from home. This research aims to find out how managers are adopting to and dealing with changing organisational practices that are impacted by different institutional pressures such as values, regulations and change. This study focuses on managers to find out how they have adjusted to working from home practices and managed challenges from it but also to understand their arguments and considerations about future work constellations. By this material we aspire to provide managers with information in terms of organising working practices when society is going back to normal which highlights risks and opportunities with working from home and future hybrid working arrangements.

Hybrid work is already a big part of many organizations' structure. This phenomenon presents many new ways of how work is performed and carries new challenges with it. Parallel to that, the importance of working IT securely and coping with IT threats is significant in all fields of work. In this case study, we interview employees at a Swedish IT consultancy company, about their perceptions of hybrid work and their perceived ability to keep information secure in a hybrid work setting. Six employees from the company were selected for interviews. These interviews were then analyzed from the theoretical framework of Protection Motivation Theory which presents ways to explain how individuals are motivated to mediate threats alongside the ISO standard which is used to explain coping behaviors. This study concludes that the employees’ perception regarding the ability to keep information secure while working hybridly is diverse. Furthermore, the office has an important role in perceived security. The final finding reveals that current information security guidelines in ISO need to be updated or expanded to better guide organizations implementing remote work.

The changing environment during the COVID-19 pandemic has led to an increased demand for hybrid work formats. However, the research field merely focuses on hybrid work formats that were planned for. Generating knowledge regarding hybrid learning and how it can help those who intend to integrate it into their organizational settings is the purpose of this study. With this qualitative study we aim to make contributions to this research gap by exploring the research question “How are digital tools used for hybrid learning in higher education environments and how does it change the conditions for learning?”. The method used is a case study, in which we interview five respondents with differentiating experience of conducting hybrid learning. We found that digital tools are used similarly in both hybrid and non-hybrid higher education environments and that there had hardly been any kind of investments made towards hybrid work methods. We also found that hybrid learning works well for the traditional one-way communication lecture form but not as well for interactive lecture forms. Because this lecture form is important for deeper learning, in the context of this study hybrid learning is not perceived as an adequate lecture form. In addition to contributions to this research field, we aim to contribute to the practical usage of digital tools within hybrid work models.