Mid Sweden University

Hybrid work, in which employees divide their time between on-site collaboration with colleagues at the office and homeworking, is expected to become prevalent in the future (Engelen et al., 2019; Bloom, 2021). These work arrangements are frequently integrated with activity-based workplaces (ABWs), which organize the workspace into designated zones tailored to different levels of interaction. These zones typically include a completely silent area, a space for quiet conversations, and a zone where unrestricted discussions and phone calls are permitted (Eismann et al., 2022).

Sweden has one of the highest proportions of employees working from home (Eurofound, 2024). However, according to a review by Carrasco-Garrido and De-Pablos-Heredero (2023), there is a lack of research on these work arrangements within public sector workplaces. This study aims to contribute to the understanding of attendance behaviors among both employees and managers in public sector organizations operating in ABWs alongside hybrid work. Employing a mixed-methods design, the study analyzes data from a survey with open-ended questions conducted among 448 employees. It compares an intervention group, which adopts a holistic approach to the transition to ABWs, with a reference group that follows a top-down approach. The study examines differences in attendance behaviors, remote work practices, psychosocial factors, and expectations, opportunities and risks related to the transition.

The main findings reveal that a broader, more comprehensive, and holistic transition process outperformed an expert-oriented and less integrated process. Participants in the intervention group provided more favorable assessments of the transition process, reported more satisfactory psychosocial conditions, exhibited higher self-rated health, and experienced lower levels of sickness presenteeism. The qualitative findings highlight both positive and negative expectations, as well as potential risks and opportunities associated with hybrid work and ABWs.

Many public organizations are striving to develop sustainable workplaces with a focus on employee engagement. Different models are used in different countries and contexts to measure employee engagement. In Swedish public sector workplaces, a model consisting of three components is used: motivation, leadership and strategic management. There is a need to enhance understanding of the model and its relation to employee advocacy. This study aimsto provide greater understanding of employee engagement dynamics in the public sector, including team climate and work-life balance components,and how this relates to aspects of employee advocacy. Statistical analyses of key components were carried out using survey results from 6020 employees and managers in municipal workplaces.The findings highlight significant relations between the components investigated and the employee-advocacy-related measurement employee Net Promotor Score. Based on OLS regressions, motivation emerged as the most influential component, followed by leadership. It was possible to classify the participants into three categories: Promoters, Passives and Detractors.The promoters exhibited higher scores on all components, and managers had higher scores on several components compared to employees. The results confirm that it is important to use a multi-dimensional approach when studying employee engagement in public sector workplaces.

Bakgrund Arbetets organisering har genomgått stora förändringar under de senaste decenni-erna, särskilt i relation till COVID-19-pandemin. Under denna period blev distans- och digitala arbetsformer, där en väsentlig del av det betalda arbetet utförs i hemmet, allmänt accepterade och praktiserade. Ytterligare forskning krävs dock om hur flexibiliteten i arbetslivet, och sär-skilt distansarbete, påverkar engagemanget i olika arbetsformer och därmed den könsmässiga fördelningen av insatser i lönearbete och obetalt hemarbete. Syfte och forskningsfrågor Syftet med denna studie är att analysera relationer mellan att arbeta hemifrån och engagemang i hushållsarbete och lönearbete bland kvinnor och män anställda inom den offentliga sektorn i Europa. Följande frågor analyseras: Hur påverkar hemarbete graden av engagemang i hus-hållsarbete och lönearbete? Finns det signifikanta skillnader mellan kvinnor och män i dessa relationer? Bekräftar resultaten idén om att arbete hemifrån förstärker traditionell könsmässig fördelning av arbete mellan kvinnor och män eller motverkar snarare arbete hemifrån denna traditionella fördelning? Metod Analysen baseras på data från den sjätte omgången av Euro-pean Working Conditions Survey (EWCS). Totalt omfattar EWCS svar från över 40 000 an-ställda i 35 europeiska länder och ger värdefulla insikter om olika aspekter av arbetsvillkor och sysselsättning. I denna studie har urvalet begränsats till respondenter anställda inom den of-fentliga sektorn, en grupp som i materialet omfattar cirka 10 000 individer. Denna avgräns-ning möjliggör en analys av hur distansarbete påverkar yrkesmässigt och hushållsrelaterat an-svar för personer som arbetar inom offentlig sektor. Resultat Preliminära resultat pekar på att hemarbete påverkar graden av engagemang i såväl hushållsarbete som lönearbete. Analysen visar att hemarbete för kvinnor är signifikant positivt korrelerat med antal rapporterade tim-mar i lönearbete, vilket tyder på att hemarbete för kvinnor är förknippat med ett ökat engage-mang i betalt arbete. För män påvisas i stället en signifikant positiv relation mellan hemarbete och hushållsarbete, vilket indikerar att män som arbetar hemifrån i högre grad deltar i hus-hållsarbete jämfört med män som huvudsakligen arbetar på arbetsplatsen. Dessa resultat ger en mer nyanserad bild än den som ofta beskrivs i tidigare forskning, där distansarbete beskrivs som en företeelse som vanligen förstärker könsmässiga skillnader i hushållsarbete och lönear-bete. Våra resultat indikerar i stället att arbete hemifrån tycks utmana den traditionella könsmässiga arbetsfördelningen genom att något jämna ut yrkesmässigt och hushållsrelaterat ansvar mellan kvinnor och män.

Abstract for EAWOP Small Group Meeting, Hybrid work environments, Berlin 2025 Impact of Hybrid and Activity-Based Work Environments on Employee Engagement and Advocacy in Public Sector Workplaces: A Longitudinal Study 

Pär Löfstrand*, Erika Wall & Stig Vinberg Mid Sweden University 

Although research on the consequences of hybrid work has grown in recent years, there remains a limited body of studies focusing specifically on the public sector. This is noteworthy, as in many countries, the public sector constitutes a significant portion of the workforce. In Sweden, for example, approximately 1.5 million out of the country’s total workforce of around 5 million are employed in public sector roles. These jobs are often characterized by challenging psychosocial working conditions, which can contribute to health issues and high rates of sick leave. 

The aim of the present study is to explore the perceptions of managers and subordinates on how sustainable employee engagement and employee advocacy is impacted by the shift from traditional cell-office configurations to hybrid and activity-based working environments in public sector workplaces. 

In the Swedish public sector, many organizations measure sustainable employee engagement for shaping public employer policies. Extensive research show that motivation is extensively related to work performance and job satisfaction and used items measure aspects of both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Considerable attention has been devoted about the impact of leadership behaviours for well-being and working conditions, as well as organizational outcomes for both managers and subordinates. In addition, research point at challenges related to leadership in the context of hybrid and activity-based work. Also, strategic management, is closely related to aspects as job design and performance management. It is also known that many public sector organizations measure employee advocacy (employee Net Promoter Score) for evaluating individuals’ propensity to recommend their employees to others. From this background, the present study focuses on these concepts. 

Data were collected in a Swedish municipality. The survey included 13 items across five key variables: sustainable employee engagement (measured by nine items related to motivation, leadership, and strategic management), and employee advocacy (measured by four items). The material includes 4 991 employees through two survey waves: the first in October 2023 (T1), prior to the transition, and the second in October 2024 (T2,), approximately 10 months after the shift to hybrid and activity-based working environments. Based on a longitudinal design, an intervention group divided in three subgroups that have implemented this new environment (N=850) are compared to a reference group that has not changed their office solutions (N= 1 800). In addition, comparisons of results (T2-T1) regarding sex, hierarchical position and operations will be performed. Statistical analyses consist of descriptive-, correlation- and regression analysis, and multivariate repeated measures (MANOVA) to examine changes of the study variables over time. Results from the statistical analysis will show differences of changes regarding sustainable engagement and employee advocacy variables between the three studied groups and other sub-groups in the empirical material. 

The results section will present the findings from the statistical analysis of the data, exploring the extent to which employee engagement and advocacy changed after the shift to ABW and hybrid work. The results will be discussed in the context of existing literature of transition processes of hybrid and activity-based working environments, particularly regarding public sector workplaces. Implications for organizational change practices and future research will also be addressed. 

*Corresponding author, par.lofstrand@miun.se 

Despite growing research on hybrid work, studies on leadership in the public sector remain limited. Hybrid work is sometimes combined with activitybased workplaces (ABW). ABW is a workplace strategy that promotes flexibility and self-leadership by providing employees with various activityspecific workspaces. However, this transition poses significant challenges for managers, particularly in performing key behaviors related to leadership behaviors and strategic management. Quantitative data from 4200 employees showed managers are more positive than subordinates about motivation, leadership, and strategic management. Furthermore, managers scored higher on advocacy measures, indicating that they are more likely than employees without leadership positions to recommend the municipality as an attractive workplace. This study employs a mixed-methods design to explore changes in managers' perceptions of leadership challenges one year before and after the implementation of Activity-Based Working (ABW) in a hybrid work setting within the public sector. First, a content analysis of 71 managers' written perceptions of the shift from cell offices to ABW was conducted. The analysis identifies key themes, including challenges such as ergonomic issues, organizational and social risks, reduced productivity, stress, noise, distractions, and concerns related to confidentiality and privacy, highlighting the difficulties managers face in adapting to this new work environment. To further deepen the understanding of leadership challenges in ABW environments, six qualitative interviews were conducted with managers from a single department. The interviews indicate that managers encounter challenges in communicating goals and expectations, monitoring and assessing performance, and cultivating trust and engagement among employees within a decentralized and flexible work environment. While challenges emerged, the analysis also highlighted positive aspects, such as autonomy and flexibility among employees adapting to ABW. The study aims to provide valuable insights into the role of leadership in ABW settings and offer practical recommendations to support managers in effectively navigating the challenges associated with this work environment. 

The present study, employing a mixed-methods approach, explores leaders and sub-ordinates measures of sustainable employee engagement. Further it explores leadership behaviors in the changing work environment of today, where many traditional office spaces have transitioned to work from home (WFH) and or/together with activity- based work environments (ABW) at the workplace.   This study focuses specifically on leadership dynamics and behaviors within the public sector and is part of a broader collaborative research initiative conducted in partnership with two municipalities. 

Comprehensive research indicates that managers’ leadership behaviors influence employees health and job satisfaction. In addition, studies show associations between managers health and job satisfaction and leadership behaviors. The present study expands this research area by investigating gaps of ratings of leadership behaviors between managers and their superior managers and subordinates, and how these gaps relate to health and job satisfaction among managers and subordinates. The approach is important because there is a lack of studies about self-other agreements regarding leadership behaviors in relation to health and job satisfaction among managers and the other two groups. This study explores (dis-)agreements in self-other ratings, between managers (n=53), their superior managers (n=36), and their subordinates (n=461), regarding both the managers’ leadership behaviors and how these (dis-)agreements affect the managers’ and subordinates’ health and job satisfaction. Survey ratings taken within the mining industry were analyzed using descriptive-, correlation-, and logistic regression analyses. Findings are that subordinates rated their managers’ leadership behaviors significantly lower than the two manager groups did. Correlation analysis showed that a larger disagreement between the managers’ and subordinates' ratings for all four leadership behavior indices was significantly negatively associated with subordinates’ health and job satisfaction, but not the managers’. The results were partially supported by logistic regression analyses when controlling for background variables. When the subordinates gave higher ratings for their mangers’ leadership behaviors than the managers did (underestimation), there were higher odds for subordinate health and job satisfaction, regarding several behavior indices; when these two groups rated the managers at a similar level (balanced rating), the odds were also higher for subordinate health and job satisfaction for several indices, compared to when managers gave themselves higher ratings than the subordinates did (overestimation). Based on the findings, theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

I denna delrapport redogörs för resultat och tolkningar från publicerade studier och intervjuer med medarbetare mellan februari 2024 och februari 2025 i Sundsvalls kommun.

Den första delen medarbetarengagemang och rekommendationsvilja baseras på analyser av mätningen av Hållbart Medarbetar Engagemang (HME) och rekommendationsvilja (net Promotor Score, eNPS).

I den andra delen, Hur pratar medarbetare om medarbetarengagemang, presenteras resultat med utgångspunkt i intervjuer med grupper av medarbetare från olika verksamheter inom kommunen. Fokus i dessa intervjuer var att försöka fånga och skapa en förståelse om hur medarbetarna upplever faktorerna motivation, styrning, ledarskap samt rekommendationsvilja. Syftet var att försöka beskriva de underliggande resonemangen bakom faktorerna som mäts i HME - undersökningarna.

I den tredje delen Intervjuer med första linjens chefer presenteras analyser av enskilda intervjuer med sex chefer från olika verksamheter.

I del fyra Vad kan arbetsgivaren göra för att du skall stanna kvar? presenteras resultat från intervjuer med olika medarbetargrupper med fokus på medarbetarskap och arbetsgruppens syn på kommunen som arbetsgivare.

Rapporten avslutas med ett sammanfattande slutord där möjligheter och utmaningar beskrivs, avsnittet avslutas med förslag på personalpolitiska åtgärder. För teoretiska resonemang hänvisas till publicerade artiklar.

I den slutrapport som planerar att presenteras i januari 2026 fördjupas resultat, teoretiska resonemang och förslag för framtida åtgärder.

Research indicates that managers’ leadership behaviors influence subordinate health and job satisfaction. In addition, studies show associations between managers' health and job satisfaction and their leadership behaviors (Nyberg et al.,2005; Arnold, 2017; Inceoglu et al., 2018;Swedish Agency for Work Environment Expertise, 2020). However, there are few studies concerning differences of ratings between managers’ self ratings and other groups’ ratings whereby the results and differences are studied in terms of associations to health and job satisfaction outcomes(Fleenor et al., 2010; Hasson et al., 2020). Although there are several instruments for evaluating the outcomes of leadership behaviors with the purpose of contributing to leadership development, multi-source feedback surveys focus mostly on managers’ or subordinates’ performance outcomes (Fleenor et al., 2010; Hasson et al., 2020). The mining industry, which is the empirical case in this study, has high levels of work-related health problems in relation to both physical work environment factors and safety problems and occupational injuries (European Commission, 2010). However, the technological development in the mining industry has led to an increased importance of both organizational and social working conditions, including leadership (Johansson et al., 2019).  

The purpose of this study is to explore the (dis-)agreements between managers’ self-ratings of their own leadership behaviors and their superior managers’ and subordinates’ ratings of the managers’ leadership behaviors,as well as how (dis-)agreements therein affect the managers’ and subordinates’ health and job satisfaction, in the mining industry. The design and methodology were to collect data by using surveys distributed to managers (n=53), their superior managers (n=36), and their subordinates (n=461) within a mining industry. The surveys included self-rated items about background variables, leadership behaviors, health, and job satisfaction. Four leadership indices were used covering relation-,structure- and change-oriented behaviors (Ekwall et al., 1991; Yukl, 2019), and the Healthy and Effective Leadership-model (Larsson & Vinberg, 2010;Larsson, 2017). The ratings were analyzed using descriptive-, correlation-, and logistic regression analyses. 

Findings are that subordinates rated their managers’ leadership behaviors significantly lower than the managers and the superior managers did. Correlation analysis showed that a larger disagreement between the managers’ and subordinates' ratings for four leadership behavior indices was significantly negatively associated with subordinates’ health and job satisfaction, but not the managers’. Results were partially supported by logistic regression analyses when controlling for background variables. When the subordinates gave higher ratings for their mangers’ leadership behaviors than the managers did (underestimation), there were higher odds for subordinates to access good health and high job satisfaction, regarding several behavior indices. Similarly, when these two groups rated the managers at a similar level (balanced rating), the odds were also higher for subordinate good health and high job satisfaction for several indices, compared to when managers gave themselves higher ratings than the subordinates did (overestimation). 

Regarding originality and contributions, the findings point at the importance of self-other agreement regarding leadership behaviors, as well as how disagreement of ratings between managers and their subordinates are associated with these groups’ health and job satisfaction. It is of value for organizations to not only have ratings from just one group, either managers or subordinates, but instead to work with self-other (dis-)agreement ratings of leadership behaviors and different outcomes. Considering the importance of leadership for employee health and job satisfaction, the present findings may indicate a greater need for organizational resources that support sustainable leadership development. The use of self-other feedback tools can be a driver for change, not least in that the use of such tools can provide managers with insights into how their leadership behaviors are perceived. Such tools can initiate reflection processes, be material that is used for dialogue with work environment experts, human resources experts, superior managers, and subordinate groups, and they can also result in action-plans regarding what behaviors need to be strengthened.