Hybrid work - the normality of tomorrow
Project implementers
University of Oldenburg
Chair of Human Resources and Organisation
Prof. Dr Thomas Breisig
Hiltraud Grzech-Sukalo
Office for University and Trade Union Co-operation
Dr Uwe Kröcher
Dr Claudia Czycholl
Hybrid work - the normality of tomorrow
Project duration: August 2022 - December 2023
It is impossible to imagine the working world of tomorrow without hybrid workplaces. The combination of working in the office and working from home is particularly suitable for traditional office work. The establishment of hybrid workplaces goes hand in hand with new requirements for workplace concepts (e.g. saving office space), work organisation (e.g. remote working) and digitalisation (e.g. data security).
The opportunities, risks and design options of hybrid workplaces were explored in the practice-orientated future discourse. To this end, the perspectives of various stakeholder groups on the opportunities and risks of combining home office and on-site work in the company/institution were included. A particular focus was placed on the mutually dependent topics identified as central: "workplace concepts", "work organisation" and "digitalisation".
Figure: Own depiction of the interrelationships in hybrid workplace models
Book publication: Designing hybrid work. Analyses - concepts - practical reports
We are documenting the central results of the future discourse "Hybrid Work - The New Normality of Tomorrow" as a practice-oriented book with contributions on analyses, concepts and design approaches to hybrid work.
Impulse paper: Hybrid working - the normality of tomorrow
The impulse paper summarises the results of the future discourse "Hybrid work - the normality of tomorrow" :
Article on working time and working time recording in the home office in Zeitschrift für Arbeitswissenschaft
Hiltraud Grzech-Sukalo and Claudia Czycholl contributed an article to the February issue of the Zeitschrift für Arbeitswissenschaft. In the article, they first present the development of home office use in Germany and selected regulations of the Working Hours Act with possible effects on the health and work-life balance of employees due to violations of the legal requirements. They then look at the obligation to record working hours when working from home and discuss the draft bill presented by the German government to amend the Working Hours Act in this context. Finally, the authors provide insights into the practice of working from home and its regulation on the basis of company and service agreements on the aspects of working time, availability requirements and working time recording. The article is available as an open access version and can be accessed by clicking on the image below.
Closing event: Home today, office tomorrow - office space concepts for hybrid work
Thursday, 07 December 2023, 17:00, online via BigBlueButton
Two days in the home office, three days in the office: this model has become the new normal for many employees. Hybrid working often leads to changes in the design of office spaces that are no longer required to the same extent and with the same equipment as before. At the closing event of the future discourse "Hybrid work - the new normality of tomorrow", various office space concepts were analysed and their effects discussed. How will office space with desk sharing be realised in practice if office space is saved? What concepts are being used to respond to the more communication-orientated usage requirements for office space? What effects can be expected on work organisation and team structures?
Two large regional companies, EWE and the Oldenburgisch-Ostfriesischer Wasserverband (OOWV), presented their office space concepts in response to these and other questions. They presented the background and objectives of the concepts and reported on their initial experiences of working in the newly designed premises.
The event is free of charge and is aimed at companies, interest groups, trade unions and associations as well as interested employees. Please register by 05.12.2023 using the online registration form.
Programme
- 17:00 Introduction "Hybrid Work" by the project team (Prof. Dr Thomas Breisig, Dr Claudia Czycholl, Hiltraud Grzech-Sukalo, Dr Uwe Kröcher)
- 17:15 Presentation of new office space concepts at the EWE Group (Sven Bubenzer, Liane Ringe, Group Real Estate Management of EWE AG)
- 17:45 Presentation of new office space concepts at OOWV (Christoph Oltmann, expert for digitalisation in the "Digital Office" at Oldenburgisch-Ostfriesischer Wasserverband)
- 18:15 Joint discussion
- 19:00 End of the event
The event took place as part of the future discourse "Hybrid workplaces - the normality of tomorrow". The Future Discourse was sponsored by the Lower Saxony Ministry of Science and Culture.
Online exchange: challenges and design options for hybrid work
Thursday, 17 August 2023, 17:30-19:00, online via BigBlueButton
Hybrid working is increasingly becoming the norm in many companies and organisations. Employees work partly on site at the company premises, partly from home or in other locations, be it in a café or while travelling. The establishment of hybrid working models goes hand in hand with new requirements for workplace concepts (e.g. saving office space), work organisation (e.g. remote working) and digitalisation (e.g. data security).
As part of the online exchange, we talked about challenges and experiences with hybrid working models in a relaxed atmosphere and discussed design options. There was also the opportunity to network with each other. Company management, interest groups, supervisors with personnel responsibility as well as employees, trade unionists and employers' associations were invited.
The online exchange took place as part of the future discourse "Hybrid workplaces - the normality of tomorrow". The Future Discourse is funded by the Lower Saxony Ministry of Science and Culture. You can find more information on our project homepage.
Online exchange: challenges and design options for hybrid work
Thursday, 25 May 2023, 17:30-19:00, online via BigBlueButton
Hybrid working is increasingly becoming the norm in many companies and organisations. Employees work partly on site at the company premises, partly from home or in other locations, be it in a café or while travelling. The establishment of hybrid working models goes hand in hand with new requirements for workplace concepts (e.g. saving office space), work organisation (e.g. remote working) and digitalisation (e.g. data security).
As part of the online exchange, we talked about challenges and experiences with hybrid working models in a relaxed atmosphere and discussed design options. There was also the opportunity to network with each other. Company management, interest groups, supervisors with personnel responsibility as well as employees, trade unionists and employers' associations were invited.
The online exchange took place as part of the future discourse "Hybrid workplaces - the normality of tomorrow". The Future Discourse is funded by the Lower Saxony Ministry of Science and Culture. You can find more information on our project homepage.
Online exchange: challenges and design options for hybrid work
Wednesday, 19 April 2023, 17:30-19:00, online via BigBlueButton
Hybrid working is increasingly becoming the norm in many companies and organisations. Employees work partly on site at the company premises, partly from home or in other locations, be it in a café or while travelling. The establishment of hybrid working models goes hand in hand with new requirements for workplace concepts (e.g. saving office space), work organisation (e.g. remote working) and digitalisation (e.g. data security).
As part of the online exchange, we talked about challenges and experiences with hybrid working models in a relaxed atmosphere and discussed design options. There was also the opportunity to network with each other. Company management, interest groups, supervisors with personnel responsibility as well as employees, trade unionists and employers' associations were invited.
The online exchange took place as part of the future discourse "Hybrid workplaces - the normality of tomorrow". The Future Discourse is funded by the Lower Saxony Ministry of Science and Culture. You can find more information on our project homepage.
Practical conference: Hybrid working - here today, there tomorrow...
Wednesday, 22 March 2023, 10:00 - 17:00, lecture hall building A14 of the University of Oldenburg
Working exclusively on the shop floor is a thing of the past. Hybrid working is increasingly becoming the norm. Employees work one day at their desk at home, the next day in the office and another day in a coworking space or while travelling. The establishment of hybrid workplaces goes hand in hand with new requirements for workplace concepts (e.g. saving office space), work organisation (e.g. remote working) and digitalisation (e.g. data security). The organisation of hybrid work is largely subject to co-determination at the workplace.
The new and changing challenges of increasing home office work and its effects on face-to-face work were examined in more detail at the practical conference in presentations and workshops. The focus was on options for organising the various aspects of hybrid work. The conference provided new impetus and an in-depth exchange of experiences.
The event took place as part of the future discourse "Hybrid work - the normality of tomorrow" sponsored by the Lower Saxony Ministry of Science and Culture.
More detailed information on the conference can be found in the programme flyer. Here you will also find materials on selected items from the conference programme:
Hybrid work at a glance - trends and experiences
Prof. Dr Ingo Matuschek, University of Applied Sciences of the Federal Employment Agency
Practice and design options for hybrid work
Sandra Mierich, Hans Böckler Foundation
Designing hybrid workspaces
Against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, mobile-flexible working outside the workplace, especially working from home, has received a boost. Working in hybrid teams also has an impact on office workspaces in the workplace, which are gaining in importance as places for interaction and collaboration and are becoming more flexible, for example through desk sharing and different work zones. Virtual interaction spaces are also playing a more important role in everyday working life. The workshop showed what spaces and places of hybrid working (can) look like and discussed together what needs to be considered.
Dr Alexandra Bernhardt, Department of Labour, Industrial and Economic Sociology at the Friedrich Schiller University Jena
Work organisation and labour relations of hybrid work
Since the coronavirus pandemic, hybrid working has increasingly become the norm. The combination of face-to-face work and working from home or other locations requires intelligent organisational solutions in terms of content, responsibilities and working hours. It is important to consider how work requirements are shifting, necessary skills are changing and how management relationships need to be organised. The workshop served to discuss these aspects in greater depth on the assumption that the potential solutions will have to take company and department-specific influences into account to a large extent.
Prof. Dr Thomas Breisig, Chair of Organisation and Human Resources at the University of Oldenburg
Digitalisation of hybrid work - opportunities & risks
How is the world of work changing as part of the digital transformation - and what does this mean for employees? Digital tools can make work easier and enable greater autonomy and a better work-life balance. If the digital transformation is organised well and in a socio-politically sensible way, if the focus is on good, healthy working conditions, if the risks are addressed with foresight and the potential is tapped. The workshop highlighted key areas of action that need to be considered in order to ensure that the digitalisation of hybrid work can be well designed.
Astrid Schmidt, Telecommunications/Innovation and Good Labour at ver.di
Workplace co-determination and shaping hybrid work
The COVID-19 pandemic has seen a real boom in hybrid forms of work. A return to a rigid office and presence culture is no longer conceivable for many employees and employers. Desk-sharing, co-working spaces and the option of working from home offer flexibility, reduce commuting times and lower office space costs. On the other hand, employees are experiencing the dissolution of work boundaries, increased pressure to perform and work intensification. The workshop discussed options for the co-determination of hybrid work in the workplace.
Thalke Iggena, lawyer at the law firm for labour law silberberger.lorenz in Düsseldorf
Oeins aktuell on the practice conference and hybrid working
Report on hybrid working (01:00-05:45 min.) as part of the programme oeins aktuell from 14.04.23
Online exchange: challenges and design options for hybrid work
Wednesday, 22 February 2023, 17:30-19:00, online via BigBlueButton
Hybrid working is increasingly becoming the norm in many companies and organisations. Employees work partly on site at the company premises, partly from home or in other locations, be it in a café or while travelling. The establishment of hybrid working models goes hand in hand with new requirements for workplace concepts (e.g. saving office space), work organisation (e.g. remote working) and digitalisation (e.g. data security).
As part of the online exchange, we talked about challenges and experiences with hybrid working models in a relaxed atmosphere and discussed design options. There was also the opportunity to network with each other. Company management, interest groups, supervisors with personnel responsibility as well as employees, trade unionists and employers' associations were invited.
The online exchange took place as part of the future discourse "Hybrid workplaces - the normality of tomorrow". The Future Discourse is funded by the Lower Saxony Ministry of Science and Culture. You can find more information on our project homepage.
Online exchange: challenges and design options for hybrid work
Wednesday, 11 January 2023, 17:30-19:00, online via BigBlueButton
Hybrid working is increasingly becoming the norm in many companies and organisations. Employees work partly on site at the company premises, partly from home or in other locations, be it in a café or coworking space. The establishment of hybrid working models goes hand in hand with new requirements for workplace concepts (e.g. saving office space), work organisation (e.g. remote working) and digitalisation (e.g. data security).
As part of the online exchange, we talked about challenges and experiences with hybrid working models in a relaxed atmosphere and discussed design options. There was also the opportunity to network with each other. Company management, interest groups, supervisors with personnel responsibility as well as employees, trade unionists and employers' associations were invited.
The online exchange took place as part of the future discourse "Hybrid workplaces - the normality of tomorrow". The Future Discourse is funded by the Lower Saxony Ministry of Science and Culture. You can find more information on our project homepage.
Online launch: From home, on the road and at work - challenges of hybrid work
Wednesday, 23 November 2022, 17:00, online kick-off event of the new future discourse
Working exclusively in the office is a thing of the past. Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and the associated absence from the workplace, working from home has characterised the everyday lives of many employees. In the meantime, home office use in Germany has levelled off at an average of 1.4 days per week for full-time employees. Hybrid working models, in which employees work partly on site at the company premises and partly from home or at other locations, have therefore become much more important for the world of work. Hybrid working is becoming the norm. The establishment of hybrid working models goes hand in hand with new requirements for workplace concepts (e.g. saving office space), work organisation (e.g. remote working) and digitalisation (e.g. data security).
During the event, we focussed on the challenges of hybrid working models. Panel guests Dorothee Koch (Managing Director of the DGB Oldenburg Ostfriesland region), Dr Christian Pundt (District Administrator of the Oldenburg district) and Rea Kodalle (Managing Director of the Graduate School 3GO and member of the Staff Council of the University of Oldenburg) contributed their different perspectives and experiences.
The event marked the start of the practice-oriented future discourse "Hybrid workplaces - the normality of tomorrow", which discusses central challenges and problems as well as possible solutions for the design of flexible working models in a close exchange between practice and research. The Future Discourse is sponsored by the Lower Saxony Ministry of Science and Culture. You can find more information on our project homepage.
Here you can find a recording of our panel discussion with:
- Dorothee Koch, Managing Director of the DGB region Oldenburg-Ostfriesland
- Rea Kodalle, Managing Director of the Graduate School 3GO at the University of Oldenburg and member of the Staff Council
- Dr Christian Pundt, District Administrator of the Oldenburg district.
