Uneased by performance and productivity concerns, organizations are issuing return-to-office (RTO) mandates, a decision that risks them losing their best employees. We assess whether this concern is justified by examining the effect of hybrid work benefits and disadvantages on task performance (TP), contextual performance (CP), and counterproductive work behavior (CWB). We untangle the hybrid work–performance link by examining the mediation of work engagement and affective commitment.
We analyzed cross-sectional data from 208 hybrid workers using structural equation modeling.
Hybrid work benefits improved TP and CP while attenuating CWB. Hybrid work disadvantages had a small effect on CWB but did not affect TP and CP. Work engagement and affective commitment were complementary mediators between hybrid work benefits and performance dimensions. There was a disengagement effect, as hybrid work disadvantages impaired work engagement and consequently TP and CP.
Hybrid work provides a net benefit for employee performance. The performance-impairment effect of its disadvantages is substantially offset by performance gains contributed by its benefits.
Organizations should consider adopting or improving hybrid work arrangements because they promote TP and CP that offset CWB. Organizations that have issued RTO mandates should reconsider their decision or risk losing their best performers. Organizations should also redesign their performance management systems to focus more on autonomy and flexibility instead of physical attendance and direct supervision.
This study is among the few to examine the simultaneous associations of hybrid work benefits and disadvantages with individual work performance dimensions. It provides timely evidence for the net benefit of hybrid work towards performance and for the urgency to reconsider RTO mandates.
