Best of both worlds? : Exploring how the employees perceive the hybrid solution in connection to group dynamics, motivation, and well-being

Sammanfattning: The coronavirus was declared a health emergency in 2020, which led to many employers let their employees work from home to decrease the virus. After the restrictions regarding working from home were removed, some people continued to work from home for a few days a week and spent the other days at the office, which is today called the hybrid solution. As the hybridly way of working is relatively new, there is a lack of research on how the employees perceive the mix of working from the office and home. In order to recruit and retain employees, it can be essential to know if the hybrid solution is perceived as an advantage or disadvantage. Therefore, this thesis explains how the employees perceive the hybrid solution, with the perspective of how it affects their motivation, well-being, and group dynamics. The study is going to answer the research question: If offering a hybrid solution to work is attractive to prospective employees, how does the opportunity to work hybridly affect their motivation, well-being and group dynamics and consequently organizational retention? Based on that, the theoretical framework has come into existence that connects the different themes: of motivation, social identity theory, and talent management into the research. It is a qualitative study with ten semi-structured interviews. The respondents have answered how they perceive the hybrid solution and its effects from their perspective. After the execution of the interviews, we analyzed the material and connected it to previous studies and the theoretical framework. In the analysis, we focus on the outcome of our interviews connected to concepts such as social identity theory, Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, Herzberg’s two-factor theory, the equity model, extrinsic and intrinsic motivation, and talent management strategy.The findings are that the employees find the hybrid solution as an advantage but that it is not required for them in order to be motivated and feel satisfied with their employers. Employees working remotely today would feel dissatisfied if the opportunity were taken away. Moreover, from the social perspective, work groups must often meet to have great work dynamics.