Employees’ Responses to Hybrid Work Environment

Abstract

As we navigate through the ongoing pandemic, there is growing attention towards the hybrid work environment, which is increasingly seen as the preferred approach for the post-COVID world of work. A thorough examination of existing literature has revealed the diverse effects of hybrid working on employees and their work. This study aims to assess employees' feedback on the hybrid work environment and explore how various aspects of the physical environment are related to factors affecting their work performance. To achieve this, we conducted a case study involving an online news media company based in Thailand, with the objective of investigating the practical application of existing research findings. The research methodology employed for this study included an interview with a general manager and a questionnaire survey designed to evaluate employee satisfaction, perceived support for productivity, and opinions regarding the correlation between physical environment aspects and factors influencing work performance. Descriptive statistics and content analysis were utilized in this research. Our findings clearly indicate that workplace concepts and the arrangement of work environments are significantly influenced by organizational context, including factors such as business type, organizational structure, and staff characteristics. These factors play a crucial role in shaping employee satisfaction and perceived support for productivity. Moreover, we observed that factors contributing to employee satisfaction also have a direct impact on individual and team perceived support for productivity. Notably, physical workplace conditions and the use of information and communication technology (ICT) are closely connected to various factors that affect work performance. Through this study, we have provided insights into the relationship between elements of the physical environment and factors that influence employee performance.