Making hybrid-work work: task–environment fit, managerial trust and work–life balance in higher education

Beadsworth, S, Haj Youssef, M ORCID: 0000-0002-6011-1605 and Jackson, V ORCID: 0000-0001-8968-3212 (2026) Making hybrid-work work: task–environment fit, managerial trust and work–life balance in higher education. Journal of Work-Applied Management. pp. 1-14. ISSN 2205-2062

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Abstract

Purpose
Remote and hybrid work have become enduring features of academic labour, yet evidence on their consequences for work–life balance (WLB) remains mixed.

Design/methodology/approach
This qualitative study examines how remote arrangements, organisational support, professional isolation and boundary preferences intersect to shape academics' WLB. In total, 19 semi-structured interviews with UK-based academics were thematically analysed.

Findings
Three themes emerged. First, flexibility, productivity and work practices: teaching and collaboration were more effective in person, while writing, analysis and marking flourished at home; reclaimed commuting time and environmental control enhanced focus and well-being but risked “always-on” spillover. Second, organisational, managerial and technical support: trust-based, output-focused supervision, clear policies, useable information technology (IT) and appropriate estates enabled balance, whereas ambiguity, hot-desking and poor systems depleted resources. Third, WLB, boundaries and well-being: micro-boundaries and availability norms mitigated erosion, while isolation was unevenly experienced, particularly by newcomers.

Originality/value
The study reframes autonomy as a conditional resource, positions boundary outcomes as shaped by the interaction of preferences and organisational affordances, and advances task–environment fit as a practical design principle. Implications include codifying boundary norms, developing “trust-capable” managers and aligning estates and IT with academic work.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	3507 Strategy, management and organisational behaviour
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HF Commerce > HF5001 Business L Education > LB Theory and practice of education > LB2300 Higher Education
Divisions:	Liverpool Business School
Publisher:	Emerald
Date of acceptance:	4 May 2026
Date of first compliant Open Access:	22 May 2026
Date Deposited:	22 May 2026 14:18
Last Modified:	22 May 2026 14:18
DOI or ID number:	10.1108/jwam-03-2026-0054
URI:	https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/28628

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