D2 C3 (15min pres)
Tracks
Track C | Ballroom 3
| Friday, October 25, 2024 |
| 11:45 AM - 12:00 PM |
| Stream C | Ballroom 3 |
Overview
Exploring the optimal hybrid working choice for employee wellbeing: a systematic review.
(Paul Lund)
Presenter
Mr Paul Lund
Industry Engagement Lead Researcher
Swinburne University
Exploring the Optimal Hybrid Working Choice for Employee Wellbeing: A Systematic Review
11:45 AM - 12:00 PMAuthor(s)
Bednall, Timothy C
Williams, Benedict J
Williams, Benedict J
Abstract
Since the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, the merits of hybrid work, a combination of days working from the office and from another location (e.g., home), has been widely contested in peer-reviewed research, social media and news channels. This systematic review aims to synthesise the findings of the peer-reviewed literature on the influence of hybrid work on worker wellbeing, evaluate the quality of this existing research through a thematic analysis, and identify directions for future research.
A database search of Web of Science, EBSCOHost (Psychology & Behavioral Sciences Collection and Business Source Ultimate), ProQuest (Psychology Database and ABI/INFORM collection), PsycINFO and Scopus in March 2023 returned 7,452 articles. With duplicates and exclusions (e.g., no wellbeing outcomes, no comparison between working from office and home/third place, etc) removed, 41 articles were selected for review.
Our review determined that although hybrid work was generally linked to wellbeing, there are numerous quality issues that limit the theoretical and practical insights that can be gleaned from this work. Our review recommends that measurements of hybrid work should provide sufficient granularity (e.g., number of hours or percentages working from home) to investigate the extent of hybrid work influence on wellbeing. In addition, the measurement of flexitime (i.e., where organisations allow employees some control over the schedule of their working day, such as start and end times and taking time off during the day for personal reasons) should be included as a separate control or independent variable.
We observed that measurements of wellbeing primarily focused on negative valence (i.e., job burnout, occupational fatigue, emotional exhaustion, job stress and job strain), suggesting there are opportunities for positive outcomes to be also studied (e.g., work engagement). We found some research used proxy wellbeing measures (i.e., work/life balance, job autonomy and leader-employee relationships) or tested these dimensions as moderators or mediators in the relationship between hybrid work and wellbeing. The use of control variables, apart from age, gender, was limited in the studies with variables such as commute time, extended family support, carer duties, number of children at home, work-home interference and home-work interference commonly absent. Future studies should examine the optimal level of hybrid work for wellbeing and whether it depends on individual motivational and leader-employee relationship characteristics.
A database search of Web of Science, EBSCOHost (Psychology & Behavioral Sciences Collection and Business Source Ultimate), ProQuest (Psychology Database and ABI/INFORM collection), PsycINFO and Scopus in March 2023 returned 7,452 articles. With duplicates and exclusions (e.g., no wellbeing outcomes, no comparison between working from office and home/third place, etc) removed, 41 articles were selected for review.
Our review determined that although hybrid work was generally linked to wellbeing, there are numerous quality issues that limit the theoretical and practical insights that can be gleaned from this work. Our review recommends that measurements of hybrid work should provide sufficient granularity (e.g., number of hours or percentages working from home) to investigate the extent of hybrid work influence on wellbeing. In addition, the measurement of flexitime (i.e., where organisations allow employees some control over the schedule of their working day, such as start and end times and taking time off during the day for personal reasons) should be included as a separate control or independent variable.
We observed that measurements of wellbeing primarily focused on negative valence (i.e., job burnout, occupational fatigue, emotional exhaustion, job stress and job strain), suggesting there are opportunities for positive outcomes to be also studied (e.g., work engagement). We found some research used proxy wellbeing measures (i.e., work/life balance, job autonomy and leader-employee relationships) or tested these dimensions as moderators or mediators in the relationship between hybrid work and wellbeing. The use of control variables, apart from age, gender, was limited in the studies with variables such as commute time, extended family support, carer duties, number of children at home, work-home interference and home-work interference commonly absent. Future studies should examine the optimal level of hybrid work for wellbeing and whether it depends on individual motivational and leader-employee relationship characteristics.
Learning outcomes
At the conclusion of this event, attendees will be able to:
- understand the current state of hybrid-work and wellbeing research
- evaluate the opportunities for future research in the topic of hybrid-work and wellbeing
- understand the current state of hybrid-work and wellbeing research
- evaluate the opportunities for future research in the topic of hybrid-work and wellbeing
.....
Paul has over 30 years of industry experience working in Banking and Finance, Telecommunications, Manufacturing, Retail, Logistics, Utilities and Management Consulting. Operating at senior levels, Paul sought a deeper understanding of human cognition and behaviour to apply in his people leadership roles by completing undergraduate and Honours studies in Psychological Sciences at Swinburne University of Technology. Paul is now undertaking PhD studies part-time to further his credentials, specialising in the topic of hybrid-work.
Recently, Paul had worked as a hybrid-work researcher for Swinburne University Edge, notably on the Australian Mental Health Commission National Workplace Initiative and Regional Development Victoria projects, and as a high-performance coach advising organisations on Human Resource related initiatives such as Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Hiring processes, Leadership and Best-practice communication methods.
