2023-Laura Reeves
Who is supporting the line manager? The impact agile working arrangements has on managers’ belonging in organisations. Project
Dr Laura Reeves (PI), University of Suffolk; and Prof Clare Rigg (Co-I), University of Suffolk - Who is supporting the line manager? The impact agile working arrangements has on managers’ belonging in organisations.
Grant Ref: 2023-317-T1
Grant Amouunt: £3,997
Project summary: Agile working arrangements (AWA) involve the ability to work in a space and/or time best suited to the task at hand and include non-traditional work styles (desk-sharing, flexible/flexi-working, remote working, virtual working, reduced hours, compressed working weeks, job sharing). While there has been attention to ways AWA improve individual and organisational performance, less is known on the potential negative impacts on managers. Instead, scholars focus on ways belongingness creates meaningful work for employees (Byrd, 2022). However, holding managerial roles is known to be lonely and isolating (CMI, 2019), which has the potential to impact on a managers’ sense of belonging. While these experiences already existed before the global pandemic since the easing of lockdown restrictions there has been continued (and growing) use of AWA. For example, the ONS (2022) found more than 8 in 10 workers (in England and Scotland) who worked from home during the pandemic plan to continue to practice forms of AWA. Also, since February 2022, the proportion of workers who engage in AWA has risen from 13% to 24% (May 2022). Hence, there has been attention placed on managers to seek appropriate training on how to support hybrid teams (CIPD, 2022). This implies an increased pressure on managers to provide additional support to employees in ways that may not have been emphasised before. Yet, little attention is paid to who is looking after the manager. This project aims to shed light on this, exploring the impact AWA has on managers' belonging in organisations.