Neidlinger, Stephanie

The Job Demands-Resources (JDR) model provides a well-established framework for examining workplace antecedents and outcomes. This dissertation extends the JDR model by investigating how personal resources interact with work location in hybrid and remote settings. Four empirical studies explore whether remote work serves as a resource or a demand and how personal resources, both stable traits and daily states, moderate this relationship. Part A focuses on core self-evaluations (CSE) and remote work intensity among hybrid leaders (N = 370), showing that remote work can enhance health outcomes over time, particularly for those with lower personal resources. However, no effect on work-life balance was found. Part B comprises two diary studies (N = 63 and N = 98) on daily character strength application, demonstrating its benefits for performance and self-efficacy. These effects were stronger on office days, indicating a potential enhancement role of the office environment for state-like personal resources. Part C validates the German version of the “Thriving from Work” (TfW) questionnaire using item response theory (N = 567), establishing a reliable short form for future diary research. Part D uses this measure in a five-day diary study (N = 408), revealing that daily remote work is associated with higher daily thriving. Findings underscore the complex role of remote work within the JDR model: it can act as both a resource and a demand, depending on the individual’s personal resources and context. This dissertation advances the theoretical understanding of hybrid work and offers practical implications for supporting employee well-being and performance in flexible work environments.

This paper focuses on office worker’s application of character strengths in hybrid working contexts using two diary studies to identify: (1) strength application is effective for positive outcomes in fully remote contexts, and (2) whether the application of strengths differs remote vs. office days. First, we investigated the relationship between strength application and self-efficacy, performance, and strain with a fully remote sample of 63 participants. In a second study with a hybrid sample consisting of 92 participants, we replicated the effects of strength application on the outcomes and added daily work location as a moderator. We found that strength application at work was positively related to self-efficacy and performance in both studies, and also negatively related to job strain in the second study. The relationship between daily strength application and self-efficacy, as well as performance, was moderated by work location, indicating that employees benefit more from strength application in term of their self-efficacy when they worked at the office. We discuss the implications for workers and employers, potential benefits, and challenges of remote work practices.

The rapid evolution of remote and hybrid work arrangements has fundamentally reshaped leadership dynamics, presenting novel challenges and opportunities. As "new ways of working" increasingly become the norm, their impact on our professional lives promises to be long-lasting. This study delves into several critical areas centring around good leadership practices in increasingly digitalized and virtual settings: 1) the applicability of transformational and health-oriented leadership styles in remote and hybrid settings; 2) the impact of effective leadership on employee outcomes; 3) the dependency of leadership effectiveness in remote and hybrid environments on specific working conditions; 4) the benefits that leaders derive from employing healthy leadership styles; and lastly, 5) the distinctive challenges leaders face when managing teams remotely versus in traditional office settings. Our findings are drawn from data collected from two samples throughout Germany and across all sectors. Sample 1 consisted 1318 leaders 2180 employees surveyed in April 2021, sample 2 were 907 leaders and 2124 employees surveyed in September 2022. In our discussion, we outline practical implications for leaders and HR professionals, spotlighting strategies for integrating effective leadership practices within remote and hybrid work frameworks. This study not only highlights the evolving nature of leadership in the digital age but also offers insights into fostering a productive and supportive work environment, irrespective of the physical workspace.

Background: The Thriving from Work questionnaire is a comprehensive indicator of positive well-being for employees, applicable in both research and practical contexts. Current discussions underline the crucial impact that employment should have in enriching workers’ lives positively and meaningfully, along with the necessity for accurate and dependable tools to assess employee well-being. This study investigated the reliability, validity, and dimensionality of the translated German adaptation of the Thriving from Work questionnaire developed by Peters and colleagues [1, 2]. The questionnaire assesses work-related well-being with 30 items clustered in six domains: emotional and psychological well-being, social well-being, work-life integration, physical and mental well-being, basic needs for thriving, and experiences of work. Methods: This study aimed to convert the Thriving at Work Questionnaire from English into German. We assessed the psychometric characteristics of the German version of the questionnaire by using item response theory with a sample of 567 German employees and examined its criterion validity. Results: We found that the long and short German Thriving from Work questionnaire versions are reliable with good construct validity. Criterion validity was demonstrated by relationships with important work and life outcomes, such as life satisfaction, trust in the organizations’ management, general well-being, work-related fatigue, and work stress. Conclusions: The current study demonstrated that the German language version of the questionnaire is both a reliable and valid measure of employee well-being. We discuss recommendations for further adaptation and future research.

Leaders represent a high-demand group in organizations. The effects of leaders’ personal and workplace resources on their health and work–life balance have often slipped under the radar, as most studies are directed outwardly and focus on follower outcomes. With this study, we closed a gap in the research and investigated the positive effects of remote work, autonomy, and leaders’ core-self evaluations (CSE) on two important leader outcomes: health and work–life balance. We hypothesized that the relationship between remote work and the outcomes would be moderated by leaders’ CSE and their autonomy—in such a way that leaders with lower resources benefit more from remote work and achieve better health and work–life balance the more days they spend working from home. A sample of 367 leaders reported their frequency of working from home, their autonomy, and CSE. Their health and work–life balance were assessed five months later. Results showed a moderating effect of CSE on both outcomes, indicating that leaders with low CSE benefit more in terms of health and work–life balance. There was no moderating effect of autonomy. Leaders with high resources (autonomy and CSE) had overall higher levels of health and work–life balance regardless of work location. Practitioners in organizations should consider working from home as a resource for leaders, particularly if personal resources are lower.