A researcher at the University of Suffolk is "thrilled" after scooping a prestigious grant to enable her to study the effects of agile working on bosses.
Leadership and Management researcher Dr Laura Reeves has secured a £4k grant from the British Academy of Management (BAM) Transitions 1 scheme which will help fund a 12-month pilot study.
“As an early career academic I am both proud and thrilled to be awarded this funding from the British Academy of Management, which will help to understand the issues surrounding managerial belonging," she said.
She will work with a co-investigator - Professor Clare Rigg of Lancaster University Management School.
The pair will start collecting data in December to assess the impact of agile working on managers, and how it affects their sense of belonging to the organisation they work for.
The work will include interviews and focus groups with managers.
Agile working took off during the pandemic of 2020 and 2021 and has resulted in flexible arrangements for many employees. These include the ability to work remotely or working flexible hours.
But while the effects of these working patterns on workers have been studied, less is known about how this kind of working model affects managers.
Dr Reeves is planning to follow up the pilot study with a larger research project and grant application.
She hopes it will help support further study and inform companies' wellbeing policies for agile working arrangements.
Managerial roles can be lonely, she said, and can affect people's sense of belonging at an organisation. Agile working creates pressures to support employees working remotely or in different ways.
“While there is a lot of focus on employee wellbeing, this places managers in a position where they are required to facilitate new ways of working, perhaps in an environment where their wellbeing is less well looked after or understood," she said.
“Looking forward, the project will be invaluable in applying for further funding to continue to better support managers in the workplace.”
Office for National Statistics data from 2022 shows eight in 10 workers in England and Scotland who worked from home during the Covid-19 pandemic plan to continue using agile working arrangements.
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