As part of my PhD at the Amsterdam Business School (University of Amsterdam), I am currently doing a research project on inclusive leadership in a hybrid work setting.
Hybrid working will be our future work environment: 86% of employees have a clear preference to hybrid work and expect their employers to allow for remote options (AT & T, State of the Industry Future of Work, 2022). At the same time, 43 % of remote workers feel excluded in work situations like team meetings.
But what really caught my eye was that more than half of managers (54%) indicate that leadership is out of touch with their employees since working in a hybrid setting (Microsoft Work Trend Index, 2022).
Through my research, I want to contribute to these shortcomings: I want to find out how leaders can create inclusion in their hybrid teams. More specifically, I want to explore how employees perceive inclusive leaders in hybrid settings and which specific inclusive behaviours can help them to overcome hybrid team challenges.
Therefore, I conducted 40 employee interviews in cooperation with three of the biggest companies in the Netherlands. In a semi-structured interview flow, the workers talked about their experiences, observations and perceptions with inclusive leaders in virtual and hybrid environments.
At the moment, I am about to analyse the interview data, develop clusters and come up with managerial implications. So far, I can say that being included at work is an important driver of people’s commitment in hybrid settings, especially as teams are often split into office vs. remote workers. Leaders who really care about their people and their personal circumstances - rather than their outcomes only – will foster employee motivation, engagement and even long-term retention.
Curious to learn more about the study and its results?
Check back here for updates in the coming months or get in contact with Moritz.