Hybrid Work Leadership (HWL) is an applied and translational research lab of UNSW Business School. The COVID-19 environment has forced rapid changes to the roles of workspaces in organisational life. Although many people have enjoyed the new benefits and flexibilities of remote working, some have struggled with working conditions and family situations that make remote work challenging.

As employee and industry expectations continue to change, we predict that flexible work will remain a permanent fixture for many roles. As organisations work to accomplish their goals, these opportunities bring new challenges to be managed, even as technology advances improve the effectiveness of remote work. We help organisations be more proactive and successful through developing hybrid work strategies that:

 

  1. Support and build on a constructive culture
  2. Continue to attract the best people
  3. Leverage the opportunity to rethink office space
  4. Maximise staff wellbeing, and minimise both mental and physical health issues
  5. Drive productivity across business goals/metrics
  6. Allow adaptations as technology and staff expectations evolve 

Hybrid Work Leadership (HWL) has specific expertise on learning organisations and activities, human resource management, and employee work relationships. Together, these capabilities are considered crucial to developing and maintaining sustainable hybrid work arrangements ahead. Our research lab is based on both industry deliverables and research outputs with an emphasis on employee outcomes.

Our goals

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Collaborate with industry partners and facilitate new industry relationships.

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Undertake academic research to develop hybrid work arrangements that are sustainable for the coming years.

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Engage with researchers across UNSW Business School to tap into their strong knowledge base and publish in top management journals on future work arrangements and achieve better outcomes for our industry partners.

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Promote Hybrid Work Leadership as a leading knowledge centre for hybrid and flexible working arrangements.

Partner with us

Want to be a high-performing leader in a hybrid workplace? Partner with us for research and insights that will support your strategy.

Contact us: Andrew Dhaenens or Karin Sanders

  • Like many organisations, COVID-19 forced Frasers Property to move to a remote working model for much of its workforce. UNSW Business School’s Hybrid Work Leadership (HWL) research lab has been partnering with Frasers to provide support with research and insights that positions Frasers as a thought-leader in the space, keeping their employees engaged and culture robust. In addition to this founding project, we are active in leading several workshops, consultations, and executive presentations for various organisations.

    External Contributors

    Associate Professor Xiaobei Li, Shanghai Business School, Shanghai, China

    Associate Professor Sue Williamson, UNSW Canberra, Australia

    Dr Huadong Yang, University of Liverpool Management School, UK

  • Our Hybrid Work Leadership research lab is supporting a project with Frasers Property over the next two years as the company’s approach evolves in response to changes in employee expectations and advances in technology via:

    • Assisting, designing, and managing surveys
    • Reviewing the best of current research across a broad range of sources
    • Preparing reports with detailed statistical analysis of survey results
    • Facilitating workshops with senior leaders on implications and development of new approaches

    From a research perspective, our projects provide valuable opportunities to collect rich longitudinal data on the success of hybrid work challenges via learning and employee outcomes for top-tier publications in outlets such as Personnel Psychology, Journal of Applied Psychology, Academy of Management Journal, Human Resource Management, and Journal of Management.

    In the medium term, our research lab is working to support organisations in achieving their targets and engaging partners through other projects with sustainable hybrid work solutions. Since work arrangements are an important and timely challenge for many organisations, HWL remains eager to showcase our work with other organisations, policy makers, and international agencies

  • Our work has been featured across many popular outlets (print, radio, and television) including Sydney Morning Herald, Sky News, 2GB, Qantas Magazine, Canberra Times, HRM Magazine, 2CC Talking Canberra, and The New Daily.

Our team

Senior Deputy Dean (Research & Enterprise)

Founder & Research Director

Adjunct Associate Professor & AGSM Fellow Member

p.sharry@agsm.edu.au

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Business Insights Institute Research Associate Dr Bradley Hastings
Business Insights Institute Research Associate
Business Insights Institute Research Associate Dr Christian Criado-Perez
Business Insights Institute Research Associate