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.

Bakgrund: Hybridarbete är en arbetsform som växt fram de senaste åren där distansarbete kombineras med arbete på kontor. I samband med Covid-19 pandemin var många kontorsarbetare tvungna att arbeta på distans och det är något som många har velat och haft möjlighet att göra efter. Flera arbeten kan göras fullt ut på distans och fler företag implementerar olika policys kring detta.   Syfte: Syftet med studien är utifrån den anställdes perspektiv vid kontorsarbeten undersöka och få en ökad förståelse kring hur deras motivation påverkas av hybridarbete. Studien ämnar även att urskilja både positiva och negativa konsekvenser av hybridarbete. Metod: Studien har använts en kvalitativ metod och semi-strukturerade intervjuer med respondenter från flera olika företag. Vidare har en induktiv ansats använts. Totalt intervjuades sex personer och resultatet av detta analyserades med tematisk analys.   Slutsats: Hybridarbete möjliggör mer självbestämmande kring hur arbetet ska utformas samt var det utförs vilket ökar motivationen. Både formell och informell kommunikation mellan kollegor blev sämre de dagar respondenterna arbetade hemifrån vilket påverkar feedback och därmed motivationen negativt. Vid arbete på distans blev det mindre variation i arbetsuppgifter än arbete på kontoret vilket påverkar motivation negativt. Flera utmaningar upplevdes i samband med hybridarbete som exempelvis mindre vardagsmotion, sämre ergonomi och färre pauser. / Background: Hybrid work, a type of employment that combines office and remote work, has become more popular lately. Many office workers were obliged to work remotely during the Covid-19 outbreak, and many of them have wished and had the chance to do so ever since. Many occupations can be completed entirely online, and more businesses are introducing different policies in this area.   Aim: The purpose of the study is to examine and gain an increased understanding of how motivation is influenced by hybrid work from the perspective of employees in office settings. The study also aims to identify both positive and negative consequences of hybrid work. Methodology: The study used a qualitative approach and included semi-structured interviews with respondents from a range of firms and a qualitative approach. In addition, an inductive strategy was used. Six people in all were interviewed, and theme analysis was used to examine the findings. Conclusion: Hybrid employment promotes motivation because it gives workers greater freedom over how their jobs are organized and where they are carried out. On the days when the respondents worked from home, formal and informal communication among coworkers worsened, which had a negative impact on feedback and, subsequently, motivation. When compared to working from the office, remote work produced less variation in the duties, which had a negative impact on motivation. Hybrid work presented several difficulties, including less daily physical activity, inferior ergonomics, and fewer breaks.

Detta arbete undersöker ämnet distansledarskap och kommunikation i samband med den utbredda användningen av distansarbete idag. Det introducerar samhälleliga förändringar och händelser som har lett till det ökade behovet av anpassning, särskilt i ljuset av pandemin Covid-19. Utmaningarna inom organisationer och sektorer som har drabbats hårt diskuteras, och betydelsen av ledarskap och dess förändringar i samband med distansarbete och digitala kommunikationsverktyg framhävs. Fördelarna med distansarbete, såsom ökad självständighet och flexibilitet, presenteras tillsammans med de utmaningar det medför, såsom social isolering och konflikter mellan arbete och privatliv. Det betonas att ledare måste hantera och övervinna dessa utmaningar. Problematiken kring distansledarskap i dagens komplexa arbetsmiljö, där kommunikation och samarbete huvudsakligen sker via digitala plattformar, diskuteras. Frågor om teamkänsla, isolering, förbättrad kommunikation och samarbete i den digitala arbetsmiljön utforskas. Vidare betonas vikten av att hantera och dra nytta av personalens kunskaper och erfarenheter samt upprätthålla en lärandeprocess och kontinuerlig utveckling i den digitaliserade världen. Syftet med studien är att undersöka ledarskapet i den digitaliserade arbetsmiljön efter covid-19-pandemin. Forskningsfrågorna fokuserar på hur distansarbete och användningen av digitala verktyg påverkar ledarnas förmåga att skapa och upprätthålla förtroendefulla relationer med medarbetarna samt vilka kommunikationsstrategier och ledarskapsmetoder som är mest effektiva för att främja motivation och engagemang hos distansarbetande medarbetare.  En teoretisk referensram presenteras för att definiera och utforska centrala begrepp och relevant teori inom områdena distansledarskap, kommunikation och digitalisering. Distansledarskap definieras som en ledarskapsform där ledaren styr och stödjer medarbetare som arbetar på avlägsna platser utan att vara fysiskt närvarande. Teknologins roll i distansledarskap för att möjliggöra kommunikation och samarbete över avstånd betonas. Utmaningar och möjligheter inom distansledarskap diskuteras, tillsammans med betydelsen av ledarskap och öppen kommunikation för att skapa en lärande organisation i den digitala eran. Forskningens metodologi beskrivs, med en kombination av enkätundersökningar och intervjuer för att samla in data. Enkäter användes för att ge en övergripande bild av distansledarskap och kommunikation, medan intervjuer användes för att få mer detaljerade svar och specifik information. / This paper explores the topic of remote leadership and communication in the context of the widespread use of remote work today. It introduces societal changes and events that have led to the increased need for adaptation, particularly in light of the Covid-19 pandemic. The challenges faced by organizations and sectors heavily affected are discussed, highlighting the significance of leadership and its transformations in relation to remote work and digital communication tools.  The benefits of remote work, such as increased independence and flexibility, are presented alongside the challenges it brings, such as social isolation and conflicts between work and personal life. It emphasizes that leaders must address and overcome these challenges. The issue of remote leadership in today's complex work environment, where communication and collaboration primarily occur through digital platforms, is discussed. Issues related to team cohesion, isolation, improved communication, and collaboration in the digital work environment are explored. Furthermore, the importance of managing and leveraging employees' knowledge and experiences while maintaining a learning process and continuous development in the digitized world is emphasized. The aim of the study is to investigate leadership in the digital work environment post the Covid-19 pandemic. The research questions focus on how remote work and the use of digital tools impact leaders' ability to establish and maintain trustful relationships with employees, as well as which communication strategies and leadership methods are most effective in fostering motivation and engagement among remote workers. A theoretical framework is presented to define and explore key concepts and relevant theories in the areas of remote leadership, communication, and digitization. Remote leadership is defined as a form of leadership where the leader guides and supports employees working in remote locations without being physically present. The role of technology in remote leadership to facilitate communication and collaboration across distances is emphasized. Challenges and opportunities in remote leadership are discussed, along with the significance of leadership and open communication in creating a learning organization in the digital era. The research methodology is described, employing a combination of surveys and interviews to gather data. Surveys were used to provide an overview of remote leadership and communication, while interviews were used to obtain more detailed responses and specific information.

The rapid digital development has transformed our lives, and today we can work in new ways compared to before. With an increased demand for flexible work arrangements, where the home serves as a workplace, it is crucial for companies to understand how this affects the well-being of employees. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine how the possibility of work flexibility promotes individuals well-being. Previous research points out several factors that can influence well-being during remote work, including the work environment, the balance between work and private life, and interaction. The theoretical framework of the study is primarily based on Karasek and Theorell's demand-control-support model (1990), but in specific sections, support will also be drawn from studies by Kangas et al. (2023) and Espersson et al. (2023) using the concepts of Family-supportive supervisor behaviors and urholkade sociala relationer. The study is based on qualitative interviews conducted with employees in various units at Västerås municipality who work part-time at the physical workplace and part-time remotely. The results show that remote work is significant, especially for employees work-life balance, which positively impacts their well-being. What is really important for well-being is the ability to manage and plan worktasks on your own, no matter where you're working. / Den snabba digitala utvecklingen har förändrat våra liv och idag kan vi arbeta på nya sätt jämfört med tidigare. Med en ökad efterfrågan på flexibelt arbete med hemmet som arbetsplats, är det viktigt att företag är insatta i hur detta påverkar medarbetarnas välbefinnande. Syftet med studien är därför att undersöka hur möjligheten till arbetsflexibilitet främjar individers välbefinnande. Tidigare forskning visar på flera faktorer som kan påverka välbefinnandet under distansarbete, såsom arbetsmiljön, balansen mellan arbete och privatliv samt interaktionen. Studiens teoretiska ramverk utgår huvudsakligen från Karasek och Theorells krav-kontroll-stödmodell (1990), men i särskilda avsnitt kommer även stöd tas från studier av Kangas m.fl. (2023) och Espersson m.fl. (2023) med begreppen Family-supportive supervisor behaviors och Urholkade sociala relationer. Studien baseras på kvalitativa intervjuer som genomförts med medarbetare inom olika enheter på Västerås kommun som arbetar halvtid på den fysiska arbetsplatsen och halvtid på distans. Resultatet visar att distansarbete är betydelsefullt, speciellt för medarbetarnas livspussel, vilket har en positiv inverkar på deras välbefinnande. Det som framkommer som avgörande för välbefinnandet är förmågan att självständigt styra och planera arbetsuppgifterna, oavsett platsen för arbetet.

Background: Since the outbreak of the covid-19 pandemic, more and more companies have implemented new work models, which include remote work, for better and worse. As new graduates expect to be greeted by a manager and friendly colleagues when entering the labor market, they may now instead end up with their work at home. Remote work has come with a new problematization, where newly graduated employees may feel excluded and unseen in their teams. Giving feedback on a distance is now more important than ever before, but how does it affect the well-being of new graduates when working remotely?  Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate what expectations new graduates have when entering the labor market, and how different sorts of feedback, or lack of feedback, may affect their performance and well-being at work.  Method: To obtain the necessary empirical data, the researcher conducted semi-structured interviews with 11 participants who started their careers working remotely to some extent. The questions were designed in such a way that they allowed for a background understanding of their experiences, which was then followed up by how different types of feedback affect them at work.  Conclusion: The interviews gave an insight into how childhood, nurture, and school affect the perception of what feedback is required for the well-being of the individuals. Depending on what the newly graduated employee is working with, and how the instructions are given, the requirement of feedback varies a lot between age and gender. The conclusion of this study is that different kinds of feedback affect different individuals differently. Also, older, more senior managers tend to give less feedback in a remote workplace than their younger, junior counterparts.

The goal of this thesis is to study changes that has happened regarding resistance, during the Covid-19 pandemic. The purpose is to, from an employee perspective, study whether the pandemic has led to any alterations to the resistance that normally occurs in organizations. Mainly in terms of what employees’ experience are the reasons to perform resistance, what conditions they feel they have to carry out that resistance, and how resistance is expressed by them during the Covid-19 pandemic. The study was conducted through seven semi-structured interviews and then analyzed through thematic analysis. One of the main results is that the participants of this thesis experienced that a lack of communication from their employers regarding the organizational changes regarding remote work versus work from the office, provoked dissatisfaction, and thereby willingness to perform resistance. A difference in preferences between employers and employees, where the participants who are employees tend to prefer remote work, is another aspect that leads to resistance. In terms of the conditions to perform resistance, one of the results is that the participants feel less monitored as their employer can not directly see what they are up to. The main point however, which also can be seen as a way to perform resistance is regarding symptoms. Participants felt like staying home and working remotely, and blaming it on having Covid-19 symptoms, was an easy way to have control over their remote working days, as employers would rather have them absent from the office if they have any symptoms, something that was not the case before the pandemic. Other ways to perform resistance when working remotely, such as spending time on social media, cooking, eating etc. can be framed in what is called routine resistance, which is the most common kind of resistance.

The current pandemic infused by the covid-19 virus has changed the world we once knew. To prevent the spread of the disease, many countries have implemented restrictions involving social distancing, which has resulted in millions of employees that have started to work remotely from their homes. Previous studies highlight mainly the positive consequences of remote work due to the rising popularity of remote work before the virus hit. However, the pandemic has forced companies and employees to apply these new working methods, creating unfamiliar conditions. Therefore, it is of great interest to analyze how these changes have affected employees, mainly their motivation. This study aims to evaluate how working remotely, as a consequence of the pandemic, have affected the motivation among the employees of a Swedish company within the power industry. The authors did it by conducting a literature review to understand the definition of motivation and how certain needs affect motivation. By interviewing ten employees, the authors of this study were given insights regarding how the employees have experienced remote work during the pandemic, how it has affected their personal needs, and if it has had any implications on their motivation. The results show that the interviewees share several of the advantages mentioned in the literature, such as flexibility and autonomy, and disadvantages, such as fewer social interactions and relatedness. However, most interviewees had not experienced that their motivation has changed, which is partly due to increased autonomy—those who do experience a loss in motivation attribute it to lacking relatedness and fewer opportunities for self-development. / Rådande pandemi och covid-19 har förändrat den värld som vi en gång kände till. För att minska smittspridningen har länder infört restriktioner gällande social distansering, vilket orsakat att flera miljoner anställda börjat jobba på distans. Tidigare studier betonar de positiva aspekterna med distansarbete på grund av dess ökade popularitet innan pandemin slog till. Pandemin har tvingat företag och anställda att börja jobba på distans, vilket skapar främmande förutsättningar. Därför är det av stort intresse att undersöka hur dessa förutsättningar har påverkat anställda, framförallt deras motivation. Syftet med denna studie är att evaluera hur distansarbete som en konsekvens av pandemin har påverkat motivationen bland anställda inom ett svenskt företag som verkar inom elindustrin. Detta genomfördes genom en litteraturstudie för att förstå hur motivation definieras och hur mänskliga behov påverkar motivation. Genom att intervjua 10 anställda har författarna av denna studie fått insikter gällande de anställdas upplevelse av distansarbete, hur det har påverkat deras behov samt om det har haft någon inverkan på deras motivation. Reslutaten visar att intervjuobjekten delar flera av de fördelar som nämnts i tidigare studier så som flexibilet och autonmi, men också nackdelar så som avsaknade av sociala interaktioner samt tillhörighet. Majoriteten av intervjuobjeketen upplever inte att deras motivation har försämrats, vilket delvis beror på ökad autonomi. De som upplever att deras motivation minskat antyder att det beror på försämrad samhörighet samt mindre möjligheter för självutveckling.

As the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2019 many businesses and institutions had to start pivoting to remote work and remote studying. Remote work and studying has the ability to significantly alter the way that people are used to carry out their work or studies and, in many cases, have done exactly that. Although the area of remote work and remote studying have been explored and researched on prior to this, the scale at which these changes have taken place and the number of people that are affected is unprecedented. This study aims to identify and understand the technological challenges that university students within computer science experience after having gone through this change of environment. This study also aims to understand and identify what the consequences of these challenges are and how they could be solved or mitigated. To find out what these challenges and their consequences are, this study uses a series of semi-structured interviews with students. Through this series of interviews this paper identifies a range of different challenges belonging to previously identified areas of technological challenges such as internet connectivity, communication software, VPN software, and hardware limitations. The interviews also brought forward technological challenges outside of these areas and allowed the participants to explain in detail what consequences these challenges have had on their remote education and to offer their personal opinions on how these challenges and consequences can be solved. A questionnaire was also sent out to students at Malmö University in order to gain further information regarding both social and technological challenges. The interviews and questionnaire carried out in this study and their results can serve as a foundation for further research and to be of help for individuals, institutions or businesses who are interested in the topic of remote education concerning computer science. Through the questionnaire and interviews carried out in this study it is clear that the majority of challenges that computer science students face are social in nature, although technological challenges still exist. The results of the questionnaire in particular also led to the troubling finding that a majority of students believe that the quality of their education has worsened as a result of remote education. The study also provides a number of recommendations and possible solutions to these challenges

Background: Firms need to innovate to remain competitive and innovation requires multiple stakeholders to collaborate to successfully identify new opportunities. When unable to meet an interact, we would like to understand how these stakeholders connect and what other impact on innovation performance should be considered when collaborating remotely.  Objectives: The thesis aims to identify underlying management theory and establish a model which will be used to interview employees of suitable firms. The study will then apply the model and strive to validate whether COVID-19 drives innovation and if it can be successfully performed during personal movement restrictions.  Methodology: This study is exploratory and qualitative with 4 propositions based on theoretical models tested against a selected panel of interviewees.  Results: The analysis surfaces that COVID-19 positively impacted employee commitment, competency and satisfaction while balancing employees working remotely. Both employees and firms found themselves more productive, relying on IT systems for incremental simplification of non-value-added activities. All firms did not however convert this momentum to innovation related performance to date. Overall, employees did find it advantageous being able to balance work and life, while firms enjoyed greater productivity.  Recommendations for future research: The link between greater productivity, staff satisfaction and realization of the same deserves additional attention as the scope of this study did not permit further review on an industry and past innovation performance level.  Keywords: performance, innovation, remote work, covid-19, management, productivity