Summary:

COVID-19 changed where we work. Hybrid working (working from multiple workspaces e.g., office, client sites, home, third spaces) has become mainstream. This work arrangement is preferred by office-based employees in the UK and across the EU (e.g., Davis et al., 2022; Eurostat, 2022). In this session Matthew discusses the knowledge gap that this shift to hybrid and more flexible forms of working creates and how the future workplace needs to be adapted. Matthew will draw on findings from his multidisciplinary ESRC funded Adapting Offices research project to demonstrate: the range of arrangements that may be considered “hybrid working”; the value of applying socio-technical systems principles to inform the design of the future workplace; the influence of location autonomy (i.e., autonomy over where to work) in shaping employee outcomes under hybrid working; how contemporary office environments can support work-life balance via task-space fit and the need to creative positive narratives around new ways of working.

Speaker: Dr Matthew Davis, Psychologist, Researcher, Educator and Consultant.

Biog:

Dr Matthew Davis is a psychologist, researcher, educator and consultant. As an Associate Professor in Organisational Psychology at Leeds University Business School. Matthew’s research centres on hybrid working, workplace design and sustainability. He works with leading public and private sector organizations. His articles have been published in journals such as Business Strategy and the Environment, Ergonomics, and European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology. His work has been featured by the BBC, The Financial Times, The Atlantic, The New York Times, and The Telegraph.