Where is your office? New insights on employee behaviour & social networks

In this webinar, the Adapting Offices team will preview key findings from the upcoming interactive research report on hybrid working and future workplaces. This provides a focused, data-driven evaluation of the impact of different work patterns and workplaces on employee behaviour and social networks. We explain what this means for organisations and the design of future workplaces.

Dr Matthew Davis will share insights into the impact that different work patterns and workplaces have on employees (wellbeing, job satisfaction, performance, interactions), and what this means for organisations and future workplaces. He will share findings from the analysis of employee diaries, cross-industry surveys and social network analysis.

We present the research data to help managers take evidence-based decisions about their work polices and workplaces.

Building on the latest research, our team will share their ideas around: putting social networks to use; supporting different personalities in the hybrid office; helping hybrid misfits find balance. The final part of the webinar will be dedicated to Q&A and interactive live discussion, including the opportunity for attendees to pose questions to both the research team and the wider audience to discuss ways that we can successfully design the hybrid workplace together.

Please note that this webinar will be live streamed on YouTube.

Following the webinar, attendees will receive a link to the report.

Agenda

12:00: Introduction by Dr Emma Gritt, Lecturer in Information Management, Management Department, Leeds University Business School

12:05: New Insights on Employee Behaviour and Social Networks in the Hybrid Workplace

Is office working beneficial?

What happens to hybrid misfits?

Does providing employees with choice pay off?

Are hybrid offices all about collaboration?

Does hybrid working affect your work network?

How are new starters faring under hybrid?

12:25: In Focus Practical Guidance

Putting social networks to use

Supporting different personalities in the hybrid office

Helping hybrid misfits find balance

12:40: Live Q&A 

Speaker Biographies

Dr Matthew Davis

Associate Professor in Organisational Psychology, Management Department, Leeds University Business School

Dr Matthew Davis, an Associate Professor at Leeds University Business School, is a leading academic researching how employees interact with their work environment. Matthew has worked on a range of applied research projects with corporate partners, including Rolls-Royce, Marks and Spencer, Next, Atkins, Arup and British Gas. Matthew is currently leading the ESRC funded multi-disciplinary project 'Adapting Offices for the Future of Work', examining office adaptations in response to COVID-19 and how office design and ways of working (e.g., hybrid) impact employee social networks, workflow and performance.

Dr Helen Hughes

Associate Professor, Management Department, Leeds University Business School

Dr Helen Hughes is a Chartered Occupational Psychologist, and Associate Professor at Leeds University Business School. She specialises in the social dynamics of workplace relationships, as well as graduate employability and early career transitions to the workplace. She is passionate about translating high quality research into usable insights and strategies, working with partners such as Rolls-Royce, Jaguar-Land-Rover, The National Health Service, Leeds City Council, Atkins, and KPMG. She was an Investigator on the ESRC-funded project: 'Adapting Offices for the Future of Work' project. Her research has been published in international journals and edited books and has been featured by media outlets including the BBC, Forbes, the Financial Times, and the Telegraph, as well as radio and podcasts.

Dr Emma Gritt

Lecturer in Information Management, Management Department, Leeds University Business School

Dr Emma Gritt is a lecturer in Information Management, and the Programme Director for the Undergraduate Business Management programmes. Her research interests focus on the role of digital technologies in organisations.

Dr Hannah Collis

Researcher in Organisational Psychology, Leeds University Business School

Dr Hannah Collis was a full-time researcher at Leeds University Business School working on the ‘Adapting Offices’ project. Hannah is currently a Lecturer in Organisational Behaviour and Leadership at the University of Exeter Business School. Her research focuses on personality and wellbeing within the workplace, particularly how these factors change in response to workplace pressures and design.

Professor Chia-Huei Wu

Professor in Organisational Psychology, Management Department, Leeds University Business School

Prof Chia-Huei Wu is a Chair in Organisational Psychology at Leeds University Business School. He studies proactive behaviour, personality development, work design, overqualification and employees' subjective well-being. He has published over 100 journal articles and book chapters. His work appears in leading journals, including Academy of Management Journal, Journal of Applied Psychology, and Journal of Management, among others. He currently serves as an associate editor for Journal of Management.