Using Hybrid to Turn Workplace Vibrant : An Empirical Study about Hybrid Workplace Implications on Employee Engagement

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