Kelly Drewery and Sebastian Fox report on their recent research into how hybrid working has affected teams post-pandemic
We, Georgina Woudstra and Allard de Jong, have been writing this column since 2017. In our desire to hear more voices from team coaching, we’ve become curators of this column. We’re delighted to share with you this summary of recent research into the impact of hybrid working on teams by Kelly Drewery and Sebastian Fox.
As team coaches, we often find ourselves at the coalface of emerging changes in workplace dynamics. Our recent research among more than 1,000 people in over 300 different organisations shows shifts in the power dynamic within organisations, affecting the leaders, managers and teams we coach.
A changed psychological contract with work
People report greater productivity when working from home or in a hybrid fashion. Team members have enjoyed greater flexibility in where, when and how they work, leading to benefits in particular for those who might otherwise be considered disadvantaged. For example, those with caring responsibilities have found the shift to hybrid working has helped them be more present, visible and part of the team than previously (see Table 1).
Table 1: Operational efficiency
- 39% report being more productive, especially line managers
- 44% report being better able to share ideas
- 35% of those now fully back in the workplace found it hard to share ideas when they were remote working
- 54% of those planning to stay working from home have felt more productive there
However, many hybrid workers also report difficulties in maintaining home/work boundaries, reduced opportunities for social engagement, and fewer opportunities to mentor and learn. In turn, these changes have affected team managers’ ability to navigate the psychological contract around things like customer service levels, performance management, or setting fair work levels between team members (see Table 2).
Table 2: Working relationships
- 63% report having less fun
- 54% of people indicate their connection with other teams is worse
- 46% felt there are fewer opportunities for informal mentoring and learning, especially middle managers
- 40% of carers report better team belonging
Consequences for power dynamics in organisations and teams
With the changed psychological contract comes a change in power dynamics (see Table 3).
Table 3: Power dynamics
Implications for leading teams
The profound changes in the workplace over the past two years have created both challenges and opportunities for organisations and team leaders. Team coaches can play an important role in supporting team leaders in adapting the team to meet its potential. Consider how power dynamics are affected in teams or organisations at three levels:
1) Structural (eg, roles, responsibilities): does the team need to be structured differently to function better in a hybrid environment?
2) Interpersonal (eg, shared capabilities, social capital): how do team members help each other resolve conflict?
3) Individual (eg, individuals’ needs, values and abilities): how might these have changed for people, and how explicitly does this affect the team?
- To access the white paper, go to: https://teamcoachingstudio.com/hybrid-power-team-dynamics/
- Kelly Drewery has been a business psychologist for more than 20 years, working with a variety of well-known brand name employers across many industry sectors. Currently, she’s working with client teams around the impact of the last two years on team dynamics, performance management, talent management, organisational capability and restructuring.
- Sebastian Fox is a qualified team coach who works with senior teams to help them improve their performance through developing awareness of what’s impeding the way they work. He is head of research at the Team Coaching Studio, a provider of development programmes for team coaches.
- https://teamcoachingstudio.com