Abstract/Summary

The overall research aim of the PhD project is to better understand the relationship between the physical workplace environment and employee engagement in light of a post-COVID-19 workplace ecosystem. Subsequently, the research objectives are: i) to investigate options for the future development of employee engagement metrics and industry approaches to monitoring workplace design and management, ii) to explore the interplay of employee behaviours and environmental factors for employee engagement in hybrid work practices, iii) to better understand the impact of a workplace ecosystem on employee engagement in hybrid work practices, and iv) to explore options for the development of an ‘engaging’ workplace post-pandemic. The PhD project applies a mixed-method approach: quantitative surveys, interview study and qualitative thematic analysis, and content analysis. The key findings of this PhD project are: i) traditional employee engagement metrics and industry approaches to monitoring workplace design and management do not fully reflect the recent shift to hybrid work patterns in the context of the post-pandemic workplace ecosystem (i.e., home, office, third places, and urban realm), ii) a workplace ecosystem has a positive effect on employee engagement components (i.e., vigour, dedication, and absorption) via the interplay of environmental and behavioural factors, iii) flexibility - associated with both employee behaviours and the physical workplace – is one of the main drivers of employee engagement in a workplace ecosystem, and iv) the evaluation of a workplace ecosystem needs better alignment between organisational and workplace industry metrics in the wider city context to ensure a successful transition to an ‘engaging’ workplace ecosystem post-pandemic. The PhD project found that the compilation of both a home and the office can strengthen and sustain employee engagement post-pandemic. The PhD project contributes to existing knowledge and practice by i) demonstrating the role of the physical workplace environment (indoor/outdoor) as an antecedent of vigour, dedication, and absorption (i.e., the UWES scale), ii) providing new insights on the role of a workplace ecosystem in employee engagement in knowledge-intensive organisations, iii) informing the global workplace industry regarding the future evaluation of an ‘engaging’ workplace ecosystem, and iv) delivering empirically-based research evidence on employee engagement in knowledge organisations working in a hybrid mode.