Knowledge sharing challenges in hybrid knowledge work: Lessons from Denmark

Abstract

During the COVID-19 pandemic, knowledge workers worked from home (WFH) and had to share knowledge mainly online. Studies show that remote work influence knowledge sharing. Beyond the pandemic, several studies report that companies expect more people to work partly or fully from home or anywhere. Therefore, we investigate how knowledge workers experience working from home (WFH), full or part-time, and how it affects their work and knowledge sharing.
 We conducted an online survey at six different time points between May 2020 and November 2021, allowing us to analyse different working from home situations for the first time. Our survey included 23 questions covering positive and negative experiences from WFH and demographics. Data was collected from 3406 knowledge workers in Denmark working fully or partly from home.
 The answers were analysed by fitting proportional odds logistic regressions. During the lockdown around February 2021, when Danish restrictions were high, knowledge workers reported that they could focus less on their work at home than at other points of time when they were allowed back in the office. Furthermore, they missed seeing their colleagues more during the lockdown period than at times when the society was completely open again, as they felt a lack of discussion and creative problem-solving. Despite using software solutions for collaboration and communication, knowledge workers missed opportunities for knowledge sharing when WFH. In general, during the whole period, female respondents reported that they got more time to focus on their work when WFH than males did. Finally, older respondents experienced more time to focus on work than the young respondents did when WFH.
 The results show the differences in the situation of knowledge workers, whether it is enforced or flexible/voluntary to work from home. Thus, this study contributes to a better understanding of the challenges when knowledge workers WFH, which groups of knowledge workers can gain from WFH regarding efficiency and knowledge sharing needs. Beyond the pandemic, when companies want to offer more flexibility to WFH, this study provides conclusions on which conditions to be aware of to ensure efficient knowledge sharing.

The relationship between various social work environment elements and hybrid worker well-being

“…Testing H6 and H7 related to organizational communality and social interaction yielded a positive relationship with hybrid worker well-being. Similar study designs recognize the importance of social support, interaction and knowledge sharing in the work community (Vander Elst et al , 2017; Kirchner et al , 2022; Schade et al , 2021; Chirico et al , 2021; Magnavita et al , 2021). It should be noted that observations related to organizational communality and social interaction may emerge more prominently in such exceptional circumstances as COVID-19 that force people to isolation for longer periods of time.…”

“…Issues related to working methods and practices could be solved with reasonable working hours, as well as by training employees in new practices when working methods change, as proposed by Magnavita et al (2021) and Marino and Capone (2021). The challenges related to organizational communality and social interaction could be solved with an open and supportive organizational culture that enables interaction and knowledge sharing between colleagues, regardless of location (Vander Elst et al , 2017; Chirico et al , 2021; Marino and Capone, 2021; Magnavita et al , 2021; Schade et al , 2021; Kirchner et al , 2022). The issues related to leadership and management practices could be resolved with a transparent organizational culture and equality that provides optimal latitude for decision-making and autonomy for the hybrid worker (ter Hoeven and van Zoonen, 2015; Langfred and Rockmann, 2016; Vander Elst et al , 2017; Magnavita et al , 2021; Maier et al , 2022).…”

“…The dependent variable, the outcome, was limited to one: perceived well-being on the individual level. Four covariates, age, gender, position in the organization and the extent of office presence, were included in the model as their effects have been recognized (Ervasti et al , 2021; Kirchner et al , 2022; Beckel and Fisher, 2022). Thus, a research model was created as shown in Figure 1.…”

“…Vander Elst et al (2017) investigated the effects of social support and showed collegial support directly related to occupational well-being. Schade et al (2021) and Kirchner et al (2022) highlighted the importance of knowledge sharing between colleagues when working from home. Chirico et al (2021) demonstrated that lack of interaction between employees reduced well-being during the pandemic, whereas Magnavita et al (2021) discovered that reduced support from the organization may increase stress and decrease job satisfaction in remote work.…”

Theoretical Framework of Knowledge Representation for Information Sharing

“…Similarly, when people are actively involved in making choices inside an organization, it may become a beautiful tradition of open communication in which everyone's insights are welcomed and considered. Sharing knowledge makes people more valuable, as shown by research by Kirchner, Ipsen, and Andersen [26]. Knowledge Representation (KR) [27] is a modernized approach to information storage and retrieval.…”