In the post-pandemic era the implementation of hybrid workplaces has only increased within organisations. Offering the ability to work from home has resulted in increases in both satisfaction and performance on various levels. However, this new trend has brought new challenges for organisations. The onboarding process is crucial for the integration of new employees into the organisation and must be appropriately adapted to this new way of working. The thesis aims to provide valuable insight for organisations on how they can effectively manage organisational socialisation and the onboarding processes for hybrid workplaces. With the goal of effectively integrating new hires into the company culture and their role with a focus on how organisations can best adapt to the new employees' demographical differences during the process. The research was designed by using interpretivism philosophy with an abductive approach. Two Individuals with experience with hybrid work were interviewed in order to investigate the current hybrid work environment. In addition, a survey was distributed that inquired about participants' experiences and expectations of the hybrid workplace and their onboarding process where a total of 136 responses were used in the study. The study found that there exists a disparity between the perception and the reality of the hybrid workplace. The current socialisation and onboarding processes are inadequate for appropriately integrating all new hires into the company. Therefore, companies need to adapt their processes accordingly to generational differences in order to successfully onboard new hires into the hybrid workplace.

Background: The unplanned entrance of the COVID-19 pandemic caused an imbalance in organizational stability, directly leading to the introduction of widespread hybrid workplaces. This caused new challenges for employee efficiency, engagement, and well-being due to the lack of adequate strategy and resources. As the distinction between home and office blurred, motivation became difficult to maintain using traditional approaches, and organizational focus on non-standard domains, such as personal life, health, and family, became essential. Purpose: The establishment of a theoretical framework that analyzes the motivation factors and their underlying pillars of tech employees during and after the unplanned transition to remote work.  Method: The study follows an epistemological interpretivist and ontological relativist grounding. By using semi-structured interviews following the Theoretical Sampling approach, qualitative data was created and a multiple case study was conducted. Conclusion: The research developed a framework including a trichotomy of motivation factors to extend employee motivation to a remote work environment. The study concluded that the quality of a work-life balance, the communication-chain, and employee health are the key drivers of tech employee motivation during and after the transition. The results highlight the need for these three factors in further hybrid work environments, as well as the importance of the employee’s choice of where to conduct their responsibilities on a daily basis.

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.

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.

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.

Many organizations needed to have a remote workplace during the Covid-19 pandemic, which has led to many organizations now having a hybrid workplace after the pandemic. To understand this phenomenon, there is an importance of understanding the structures that appear within organizations that have a hybrid workplace. The aim of this study was to understand which social structures are created by communication processes in an organization, that for the first time is a hybrid workplace. The aim of the study is answered by these two questions:  How are communication processes adapted in a hybrid workplace?How are structures maintained in a hybrid workplace? The theoretical approach of the study is the Theory of Structuration by Anthony Giddens. This is a case study of one organization that has a hybrid workplace. The used method was semi structured interviews, which were analyzed through a thematic analysis.  The result showed that the Organization formed new structures due to new digital tools, the flexibility, the hybrid rule and the team's different actions. Since the employees of the Organization have begun to act on these aspects, new structures have been created. As they continue to follow these rules, the structures are maintained.  The study has contributed to an understanding of the hybrid workplace in Sweden, which nowadays is a relatively broad phenomenon. Because the phenomenon is relatively new, it is difficult to discern how a hybrid workplace should be structured at such an early stage of a change process.

Bakgrund och problem Den pågående globaliseringen och digitaliseringen bidrar till en förändrad kontext för många organisationer och dess arbetsformer. Utvecklingen sker snabbt och utmaningen är för många organisationer de mjuka värdena såsom ledarskap, relationer, kommunikation, kultur och engagemang. Nya tekniska lösningar möjliggör för ständig nåbarhet, vilket öppnar upp för att arbeta var som helst och när som helst. Steget från en traditionell- till en hybrid arbetsplats inbegriper såväl ledarskap som medarbetarskap där organisationens arbetssätt, roller och kommunikationsvägar kan komma att utvecklas beroende på vilken organisationskultur som råder. Hybridarbetsplas och hybridledarskap medför olika utmaningar för medarbetarna, vilka de behöver kunna hantera självständigt utan ledarens ständiga närvaro och vägledning. Utmaningarna består bland annat i att medarbetarna behöver få de kompetenser, ansvar och befogenheter så att de skall kunna utvecklas till självgående och initiativtagande individer. Ett väl utvecklat medarbetarskap innebär att medarbetarna anser att arbetsuppgifterna är meningsfulla, vilket kan leda till medarbetarnas engagemang.   Syfte och metod Syftet med studien är att beskriva och analysera hur hybridledarskap kan bidra till medarbetarnas engagemang, detta för att erhålla fördjupad kunskap. Baserat på studiens syfte används en kvalitativ metod med semistrukturerade intervjuer som datainsamlingsmetod. Studien är genomförd på en organisation som arbetar med folkbildning inom den ideella sektorn i Sverige. Slutsats Studien visar på att det finns tydliga indikationer på att hybridledarskap kan bidra till medarbetarnas engagemang genom att skapa förutsättningar för ett fungerande medarbetarskap. Föreliggande studie visade på fyra teman med tillhörande faktorer som bidrar till medarbetarnas engagemang; kommunikation och tillgänglighet (digitala verktyg, lyhördhet och närvarande, flexibilitet och transparens), förväntningar på prestation (trygghet i arbetsroller, tydliga förväntningar, kontinuerlig uppföljning), självständighet (tydliga roller och ansvar, kunskap och kompetens, samverkan) och meningsfulla arbetsuppgifter (värderingar, delaktighet och göra skillnad). / Background and problem The ongoing globalization and digitalization contribute to a changed context for many organizations and their working methods. This development changes rapidly and the challenge for many organizations is often the soft values such as leadership, relationships, communication, culture, and commitment. New technical solutions enable constant accessibility, which opens up for working anywhere and anytime. Mowing from a traditional workplace to a hybrid workplace includes both leadership and employees, where the organization's working methods, roles, and communication paths may be developed depending on the organizational culture. Hybrid workplaces and hybrid leadership pose various challenges for employees, which they need to be able to handle independently without the leader's constant presence and guidance. These challenges include the fact that employees need to give the skills, responsibilities, and powers so that they can develop into independent and initiative-taking individuals. A well-developed co-operation means that the employees consider the tasks to be meaningful, which can lead to employee engagement. Purpose and method The purpose of the study is to describe and analyze how hybrid leadership can contribute to 2employee engagement, in order to obtain in-depth knowledge. Based on the purpose of the study, a qualitative method is used with semi-structured interviews as a data collection method. The study was conducted at an organization that works with public education in the non-profit sector in Sweden. Conclusion The study shows that there are clear indications that hybrid leadership can contribute to employee engagement by creating the conditions for a functioning employeeship. The present study identified four themes and associated factors that contribute to employee engagement; communication and accessibility (digital tools, responsiveness and presence, flexibility and transparency), expectations for performance (confident in job, clear expectations, continuous follow-up), independence (clear roles and responsibilities, knowledge and skills, collaboration) and meaningful tasks (values, participation and make a difference).

Efter utbrottet av Covid-19-pandemin blev distansarbete den plötsliga normen för kontorsanställda. Trots att pandemin officiellt har förklarats vara över har många anställda fortsatt att arbeta hemifrån till viss grad. Detta fenomen har resulterat i att arbetsgivare börjat utforska nya arbetssätt för sina anställda. Vissa arbetsgivare har valt att förbjuda hemarbete då de anser att anställda inte utför sitt jobb lika effektivt hemifrån, men även på grund av de vill bibehålla eller stärka sammanhållningen genom det fysiska mötet på kontoret. Å andra sidan främjar vissa arbetsgivare distansarbete och beaktar det som en möjlighet till ökad frihet för sina anställda samtidigt som det minskar behovet av kontorsutrymme. För fastighetsägare kan ökade vakanser på längre sikt leda till sänkta fastighetsvärden. Därför är det i deras intresse att skapa attraktiva kontorsmiljöer som anpassas till det nya arbetssättet och fortsätter att locka hyresgäster. Syftet med studien var att identifiera de olika komponenterna som anses vara viktiga för framtidens kontorsutformning. För att uppnå precisa resultat valde vi att använda en kvalitativ forskningsmetod med semistrukturerade intervjuer av fastighetsägare, hyresgäster, arbetsplatsstrateger och förvaltare. Genom detta kunde vi få ett brett spektrum av åsikter och perspektiv. Resultatet visade att en behovsanalys kommer att vara avgörande vid utformning av framtidens kontor. För att locka tillbaka de anställda till kontoret är det viktigt att de upplever att kontorsmiljön överträffar fördelarna med att arbeta hemifrån. Detta kan åstadkommas genom att erbjuda möjligheter till ostört arbete i separata rum, tillgång till gemensamma servicetjänster i byggnaden och flexibilitet. Ett nyckelord som framkom i många av respondenternas resonemang var aktivitetsbaserat. Genom en analys där tre marknadsföringsteorier tillämpas på respondenternas svar och de utvalda avgörande komponenterna kunde vi i diskussionen komma fram till att det snarare kommer att växa fram en ny typ av kontorsutformning. Denna typ kan komma att kallas för “Analysbaserad” där det viktigaste är att en behovsanalys för varje enskild hyresgäst görs. / After the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, remote work became the sudden norm for office employees. Despite the official declaration of the end of the pandemic, many employees have continued to work from home. This phenomenon has led employers to explore new ways of working for their employees. Some employers have chosen to prohibit remote work, as they believe that employees are not as productive when working from homeand because they want to maintain or strengthen employee relationships through physical interaction in the office. Other employers promote remote work and see it as an opportunity to provide increased freedom for their employees while reducing the need for office space. For property owners, increased vacancies in the long term can result in decreased property values. Therefore, it is in their interest to create attractive office environments that adapt to the new way of working and continue to attract tenants. The purpose of the study was to identify the different components considered important for the future design of offices. To achieve precise results, we chose to use a qualitative research method with semi-structured interviews of property owners, tenants, workplace strategists, and facility managers.Through this approach, we were able to obtain a broad spectrum of opinions and perspectives.  The results showed that an “analysis of needs” will be crucial in designing the offices of the future. To attract employees back to the office, it is important that they perceive the office environment as surpassing the benefits of working from home. This can be achieved by offering opportunities for uninterrupted work in separate rooms, access to shared services within the building, and flexibility. A keyword that emerged in the reasoning of many respondents was activity-based office design. After analyzing the respondents' answers and determining key components, we concluded that a new type of office design is likely to emerge. We choose to call this type "Analysis-based," where the most important aspect is conducting a “analysis of needs” for each tenant.

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and working from home conditions, hybrid work is becoming an increasingly common practice among companies. However, the mix of employees working from home and from the office creates a new environment for communication between employees and supervisors. Physical interactions in the office have proved to be important in allowing employees to present themselves and their work to colleagues and supervisors. Thus, the aim of this study is to investigate how hybrid work affects employees’ opportunities to make themselves and their work visible on equal terms. The method used is semi-structured interviews with employees and supervisors at two large Swedish companies. Results show that employees use continuous dialog, fostering close relations, and supporting colleagues to create favorable impressions in the hybrid workplace. These impression management tactics were motivated by both wanting to look good, as well as do good in the organization. Supervisors likewise agree these behaviors create favorable impressions, although supervisors are more likely to acknowledge behaviors that directly or indirectly assist the supervisors’ work. The study identified four aspects that affect employees’ impression management: routines for mutual meetings, trust and openness within the group, transparency in the work environment, and informal channels for interactions. The results indicate that a hybrid workplace with equal opportunities for managing impressions will decrease the risk of employees experiencing impression management as a sacrifice. However, the biggest challenge to create equal opportunities was identified as providing adequate informal channels for interaction - both generally in the remote environment, as well as informal channels that connect to the wider organization and higher ups in the physical office. / I kölvattnet av COVID-19-pandemin och påtvingat hemarbete, har hybridarbete blivit en alltmer vanligt förekommande arbetsform bland företag. Däremot skapar blandningen av att medarbetare arbetar delvis hemifrån och delvis från kontoret nya förutsättningar för kommunikation medarbetare emellan och med ens chefer. Fysiska interaktioner på kontoret har tidigare visats vara viktigt för medarbetare för att framställa sig själva och sitt arbete inför kollegor och chefer. Denna studie ämnar därav besvara hur hybridarbete påverkar medarbetares möjligheter att på lika villkor synliggöra sig själva och sitt arbete. Metoden som används är semistrukturerade intervjuer med medarbetare och chefer på två stora svenska företag. Resultaten visar att medarbetarna använder kontinuerlig dialog, främjande av närhet, och att stötta kollegor för att inge positiva intryck på den hybrida arbetsplatsen. Dessa taktiker för att skapa intryck motiveras både av viljan att se bra ut, och att göra gott för organisationen. Cheferna instämmer med att dessa beteenden skapar ett positivt intryck, även om cheferna är mer troliga att uppmärksamma beteenden som direkt eller indirekt underlättar deras arbete. Studien identifierar fyra aspekter som påverkar medarbetarnas möjligheter att skapa intryck: rutiner för gemensamma träffar, tillit och öppenhet, transparens i arbetsmiljön, samt informella kontaktvägar. Resultaten indikerar att en hybrid arbetsplats med jämlika möjligheter för medarbetarna att skapa intryck minskar risken av att medarbetarna uppfattar sina ansträngningar som uppoffringar. Däremot identifierades den största utmaningen i att skapa jämlika förutsättningar som att förse medarbetarna med lämpliga informella kontaktvägar - både generellt i distansarbetet, men även informella kontaktvägar till den större organisationen och högre uppsatta chefer på kontoret.

Bakgrund: Svenska myndigheter har fått i uppdrag av Regeringskansliet att möjliggöra arbete hemifrån. Ett hybridledarskap innefattar förväntningar om att man ska kunna behärska variationen mellan distansledarskap och ledarskap på plats. Hybridmöten är möten som kan tas digitalt med hjälp av olika videokonferensverktyg. Hybridledarskap är här för att stanna vilket öppnar upp för konsekvenser som kanske inte varit lika framträdande tidigare. Individuella och grupprelaterade resultat är beroende av ett gott ledarskap. Det gäller som chef att vara tillgänglig och extra lyhörd för sina medarbetares individuella behov vilket förutsätter ett kommunikativt och aktivt ledarskap. Genom ny digital teknik och den pågående digitala utvecklingen genomgår arbetsmarknaden just nu en stor förändring som påverkar flera branscher. Med det förändrade arbetslivet uppmärksammas ledarskapet vid distansarbete mer och mer. Det råder en tvetydighet i forskningen kring hur ledarskapet i en organisation påverkas när det delvis förläggs på distans, alltså hybrid. Det krävs ytterligare forskning för att förstå hur hybridarbete påverkar chefers möjligheter att utföra sitt ledarskap. Detta skapar ett intresse att undersöka chefers upplevelser av att utföra hybridledarskap. Problemformulering: PF1: Hur påverkar hybridarbete det individuella ledarskapet enligt chefer inom myndigheten? PF2: Hur beskriver cheferna en önskvärd hybrid arbetsplats med avseende på framtida möjligheter och utmaningar? Syfte: Studiens syfte är att undersöka och analysea hur chefer inom en statlig myndighet upplever att hybridarbete påverkar deras ledarskap samt vilka utmaningar och möjligheter som kan finnas. Metod: Då syftet med studien är att undersöka upplevelser har en kvalitativ undersökningsmetod använts. Data har samlats in genom tio semistrukturerade digitala intervjuer med chefer inom en svensk myndighet via Zoom och Skype. Slutsats: Studien visar att hybridarbete kan ha en positiv inverkan på hybridledarskapet på grund av att det kan skapa mer nöjda och fortsatt produktiva medarbetare. Balans mellan distansarbete och fysisk närvaro är nödvändig för att upprätthålla den sociala kontakten. God kommunikation är en förutsättning för att uppnå verksamhetens fulla potential. Hybridmöten kan vara fördelaktiga vid korta avstämningar eller informationsdelning men kan också leda till minskat engagemang hos medarbetarna, sammanhanget är komplext och påverkas av personliga preferenser. Tydligare riktlinjer inom distansavtalet behövs enligt respondenterna för att hybridarbetet ska kunna fungera mer effektivt och underlätta chefernas hybridledarskap. Avslutningsvis önskade majoriteten av respondenterna att myndigheten ska fortsätta med det hybrida arbetssättet.