Exhibition: Perspectives on Hybrid

Perspectives on Hybrid: Exploring Transformations in the World of Work

What is new, or unique, about hybrid working? This question haunts our research. Many university employees have for a long time worked on and off campus, on the road, from field sites and conferences. Yet, since the pandemic, the option to work where, when, and how we ‘choose’ has been extended to a wider range of roles, such as support staff. It has become normal to not know where exactly colleagues are located. How do we find each other, and ourselves, in this new condition of uncertainty, instability, complexity? An answer that we arrive at draws on the work of Knorr-Cetina and the notion of ‘synthetic situations’.

When working hybrid, we find ourselves in ‘synthetic situations’ - situations that are made up of multiple environments, connected to one another as well as to information via screens. Laptops, desktops, phones, watches - we are called to be ‘response present’ to colleagues, family, friends, and students. Even while on a train, in a meeting, or at the dining room table, we may be expected to respond to an unfolding situation. This is what is remarkable about hybrid working. Our lives are layered in a way that brings into question the basic assumption that one is either ‘here’ or ‘there’. The spatial, digital, and social elements of such a condition are illustrated in the images of work portrayed in this exhibition.

Sponsored by the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and the KIN Center for Digital Innovation , the exhibition Perspectives on Hybrid explores a nuanced ‘lived experience’ perspective on hybrid working by presenting glimpses into where and how work happens when we work hybrid.

The exhibition comprises 14 photos taken by employees and the research team, featuring offices, homes, and other spaces connected through different devices. The exhibition’s primary goal is to call attention to everyday working practices, particularly different objects and their relevance to organizing for hybrid working. We invite the audience to consider their own experiences and reflect on the changing landscape of what, why, when, where, and how we work.

"Perspectives on Hybrid" encompasses a two-year qualitative study conducted by researchers from the KIN and funded by the VU through the Hybrid Working Initiative. The project gathered interviews and observations with employees from different faculties, including academic and support staff. Additionally, the researchers adopted an innovative strategy for the data collection, engaging participants in a dynamic conversation exploring different elements included in the pictures they took.

Description
Hybrid working is an important trend for organizations of different types and sizes. Universities are part of the phenomenon, not only as employers but also to educate people about this new way of working. In particular, the role of the campus is now unclear for university workers. While some are happy to continue working from home, others find they need the space, specialized equipment, company, and mentorship that working on campus can offer. Yet while some see the campus as a social 'hub' for meeting with colleagues, socializing, and building a sense of community, others seek to use this same space for quiet, focused work. Contradictions and tensions are emerging.
To investigate these tensions and opportunities, we conducted a two-year study of hybrid working at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, in order to build an understanding of:
1. how a range of University employees use physical and digital spaces to conduct their work and
2. what challenges and opportunities arise around hybrid working for University employees, with consideration of how these might be addressed in practice
Methods
We conducted qualitative research focusing on how employees work: their routines, practices, preferences, and the opportunities and challenges they encounter when working 'hybrid'. In particular, we paid attention to how technological, physical, and hybrid spaces were used and how this use impacts social practices, in particular, knowledge sharing, organizational learning, and work effectiveness.
We adopted the following data collection techniques:
- Semi-structured interviews - Average 60 minutes focusing on different topics related to hybrid working
- Photovoice (adapted) - participant pictures followed by a picture interview
- Observations - Participant and non-participant observations in different buildings at the VU.
- Archival data - Documents related to the Hybrid Working Initiative (available at the website and prepared by the departments involved in the project).
Overall, we gathered 83 interviews, 209 hours of observations, and 38 documents. We are currently analyzing the data and preparing several publications.
This exhibition only covers data from the picture interview and observations. The overall data collected is currently under analysis and will be the basis for scholarly publications.
Publications

So far, we have presented partial results of our work at:
ICIS 2022 - AIS Electronic Library (AISeL) - ICIS 2022 Proceedings: Working Hybrid at Universities: Old, yet New Practice? (aisnet.org)
AoM 2023 - A Whole New World: Embracing the Technological Challenges and Opportunities for New Ways of Working | Academy of Management Proceedings (aom.org)
EGOS 2024 - Organising for synthetic situations in hybrid working (forthcoming)
Acknowledgments

We thank the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam for funding the research and the KIN Center for Digital Innovation for sponsoring this exhibition.
We extend our gratitude to the participants, our VU colleagues, for their invaluable insights and a special thanks to those who authorized the inclusion of their pictures in this exhibition.
We also thank the colleagues from the hybrid working steering committee for their extensive efforts to support employees when the COVID-19 pandemic started and for promoting the hybrid working initiative, allowing us to develop the research project from which this exhibition is built.