Mellan kaffemaskin och skärm : En kvalitativ studie om kollegialitet och organisationskultur i en hybrid arbetsmiljö

Sammanfattning

Hybrid work has become an established work arrangement in many organizations, combining remote and office-based work. While previous research has largely focused on organizational efficiency, productivity, and coordination, less attention has been paid to how hybrid work is experienced by employees in their everyday social interactions. This study aims to examine how employees perceive the impact of hybrid work on collegiality, and how organizational culture, through norms of presence and visibility, shapes conditions for social belonging and participation in a hybrid work environment. The study is based on six semi-structured interviews with employees working in recruitment, IT, and service sectors, where hybrid work is a common and recurring practice. A qualitative thematic analysis was conducted, drawing on Edgar Schein’s theory of organizational culture, Karl Weick’s sensemaking perspective, and the social support dimension of Feeney and Collins relationship-based social support framework. The findings show that collegiality does not disappear in hybrid work, but becomes more conditional and dependent on physical encounters. Digital interaction is perceived as effective for task coordination, while trust, informal support, and a sense of belonging are primarily developed through physical co-presence. The results further indicate that organizational culture is increasingly expressed through norms of visibility and availability, where physical presence often functions as implicit proof of engagement, while remote work requires active signaling of productivity. The study contributes to existing research by providing an empirically grounded, sociological understanding of how collegiality and organizational culture are practiced and negotiated in hybrid work. It highlights the importance of recognizing hybrid work not only as an organizational arrangement, but as a social condition that reshapes everyday interactions, inclusion, and meaning-making at work.