Designing Hybrid Work Organization in the Post-Pandemic Era: A Systematic Literature Review

Area of Science:

• Organizational Studies
• Digital Transformation
• Workforce Management

Background:

• The rapid expansion of hybrid work (HW) post-COVID-19 lacked systematic organizational design, leading to conceptual ambiguities.
• Existing guidance for configuring HW as an organizational system is limited, particularly concerning task demands.

Purpose of the Study:

• To update the conceptualization of hybrid work (HW).
• To identify key elements for designing hybrid work organization (HWO) using a task-based perspective.

Main Methods:

• A systematic literature review of peer-reviewed articles (2020-2025) and grey literature (2022-2025) was conducted.
• PRISMA guidelines were followed, with quality appraised using MMAT and AACODS tools.
• 25 studies met the inclusion criteria after screening 363 records.

Main Results:

• Hybrid work (HW) is a sociotechnical phenomenon integrated into digital work transformation.
• A multidimensional lens (spatial, temporal, digital, social) applied to task categories revealed designable elements for HWO.
• Effective HW design emphasizes intentional alternation, task-fit configurations, and dynamic adjustments over fixed remote-on-site ratios.

Conclusions:

• Hybrid work organization (HWO) must be context-specific and adaptive, driven by task requirements, not fixed schedules.
• Successful HWO requires a shift from presence-based management to flexible, task-driven, and performance-focused approaches.
• Organizational design for HW should be a participatory process aligning arrangements with evolving work demands.