Leadership in a Hybrid Work Setting: An Empirical Case Study

Abstract

Given the recent Covid-19 pandemic, office work as we know it will never be the same again. As a result, a novel work setting, namely the hybrid work setting, has gained popularity among organizations globally. This setting has caused a fundamental change to the way organizations operate, making leadership matter more than ever. Yet, as the hybrid setting is a rather novel phenomenon, much is undiscovered. Thus, litterature revolving around the hybrid work setting is sparse, requiring further investigation. Our research participates in an investigation of such by exploring the implications deriving from the hybrid work setting, and, through this, assessing the role of leadership. To accomplish this, we conducted a qualitative case study in the Danish HealthTech company, UniFit. This included participant observation, document analysis, and 14 semi-structured interviews. Having done so, our findings suggest that the hybrid work setting affects elements on both an individual as well as a relational level of the organization, emphasizing the complexity of the setting. Furthermore, our findings pose that the implications within the individual and relational level are strongly correlated to task complexity and media richness. Given the abundance of implications on the individual as well as the relational level, the role of leadership proves to be multifaceted. The primary purpose of this multifaceted role is to facilitate a less ambiguous ground, which allows navigating smoothly in a complex setting. Ultimately, this research provides useful insights for organizations that wish to adapt to the novel hybrid work setting.