Remote Work - Redefining the workplace through the lense of change management : A case study on the demands that arise when working remotely in the perspective of employees and managers

Abstract: There is a digital transformation that is currently occurring in today’s workplace to create a more agile, productive and smart workplace (Ulukan, 2020). The occurrence of the Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated this transformation as employees were forced to shift to working remotely (Schwarz et al., 2020). This shift has revealed a wide range of positive and negative effects on individuals and organizations. Thus, exploring how to integrate remote work properly is paramount for organizations when creating a smart workplace. Change Management includes models that can handle change by considering the two aspects of: the individual and the organizational (Prosci, 2020). Therefore, this thesis explores how organizations can use change management to address the demands arising with the integration of remote work by conducting a qualitative case study in collaboration with a company in the TMT (Technology, Media, Telecommunication) industry. The findings of this thesis demonstrate that a complete shift to remote work will not be sustainable in the long term due to the lack of social interactions which is considered to be essential according to the empirics provided in this thesis. Also, the findings show that organizations will need to provide more flexibility for varying between remote work and in-office work for the employees in the future. Moreover, managers will need to include workers more in the planning process and be more transparent towards their teams about the changes that will be required to create a smart workplace. Also, managers will need to listen to their teams' expectations on how they want to balance remote work and being at the office.