Researchers from the Universitat de València (UV) and the University of Bologna have concluded that the hybrid work model (teleworking and face-to-face work) positively influences work performance. Thus, the study indicates that, although teleworking increases concentration and motivation, it also generates social isolation. The research published in the journal “Journal of Business and Psychology” and in which Vicente González Romá, professor in the Department of Social Psychology at the UV, participates, proposes improving the face-to-face work environment and promoting informal online meetings.
“The results show that the relationship between teleworking and job performance is complex, although the net influence of the first on the second is positive,” explains Professor González Romá, also a researcher at the Research Institute in Human Resources Psychology, Organizational Development. , and the Quality of Work Life (IDOCAL) of the UV, and co-author of the study. After the COVID-19 pandemic, the hybrid work system, a work model that combines face-to-face work with remote work, has increased, so that according to the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (EUROFOND ), 49% of Europeans declared in 2021 that they would like to work from home several days a week.
Although other previous works had already studied the relationship between remote work and performance, none of them had identified the underlying mechanisms of this correlation. Thus, it has been observed that on days when working at home, the workforce experiences greater concentration, which promotes greater work motivation and greater performance. However, teleworking has its counterparts, since it produces a certain social isolation, which reduces work motivation and, therefore, performance.
In this sense, researchers point out tools to improve face-to-face work. To improve concentration on work activities, management can model team behavior by avoiding interruptions and creating a quieter work environment. Additionally, you can manage the office layout to work with high levels of concentration.
“To avoid the negative influence of the feeling of social isolation, organizations that encourage teleworking should implement practices such as scheduling informal online meetings that allow maintaining and developing social relationships,” says Vicente González Romá.
The study was carried out in an Italian town hall for eight consecutive days. More than 200 people from various occupations (administrative staff, engineers, educators, among others) who worked one or two days a week at home responded. The participants responded to an online survey every day to measure the different variables studied using a scale.
Article reference: Toscano, F., González-Romá, V. &Zappalà, S. «The Influence of Working from Home vs. Working at the Office on Job Performance in a Hybrid Work Arrangement: A Diary Study. Journal of Business and Psychology (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10869-024-09970-7
