The perceived implications of hybrid work for line managers: challenges, opportunities, and adaptations in leadership practice
Nelesh Dhanpat · Jaymee-Lee Adams ORCID ↗ · Ritkhat Bulus ORCID ↗ · Mandisa Chibe · Kimberleigh Delport ORCID ↗
International Journal of Business Ecosystem & Strategy · 2026 · Vol. 8 / Issue 3 · 91-109
Publication metrics
External links open provider records or DOI searches. Provider counts are not combined. Mendeley readership measures saves, not citations.
Dimensions
Live provider badge. If unavailable, use the Dimensions link above.
Observed 21 Oct 2026, 00:14 UTC
Observed 21 Oct 2026 00:14 UTC
OpenAlex and Mendeley observations refresh on article visits, at most once per 24 hours. Unavailable data is not zero. Google Scholar opens a DOI search.
Citations received by this article, grouped by the year of the citing work. Crossref and OpenAlex lifetime totals remain separate in Publication metrics.
2017–2026 Annual history last updated:
Citations received
OpenAlex · year of the citing work
Hover over a year or focus the chart and use arrow keys to inspect values.
2017–2026 annual-history window. 2026 is year to date. Unknown years have gaps.
View data & coverage
2026 is incomplete. Within a successfully fetched ten-year window, omitted years mean zero. Years beyond a saved observation’s window remain unknown (—). Older citations are excluded, so this chart’s sum may differ from the OpenAlex lifetime total. The date above belongs to this annual history; an unsuccessful refresh keeps the previous observation.
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated hybrid work adoption, essentially altering line managers' roles as they navigate supervising geographically dispersed teams. Despite widespread implementation, limited qualitative research examines how managers adapt their leadership practices within this evolving work model. This study explored the perceived challenges, opportunities, and leadership adaptations amongst line managers in hybrid settings, aiming to reveal factors that enhance leadership capability, team performance, and strategic HR practices. Inadequate understanding of managerial perceptions hinders evidence-based leadership development tailored for hybrid contexts. Line managers experience increased stress managing distributed teams whilst balancing flexibility with accountability, yet empirical research focusing on their experiences remains scarce. Adopting an interpretivist paradigm, this generic qualitative study conducted semi-structured interviews with 12 line managers from diverse sectors possessing at least two years of managerial experience supervising hybrid teams. Manual thematic analysis following Braun and Clarke's (2006) framework identified recurring patterns. Four themes emerged: challenges characterised by a trust-visibility paradox requiring structured communication and output-based monitoring; leadership opportunities demanding trust-based, emotionally intelligent, digitally fluent approaches; transformed practices shifting from presence-based to performance-based supervision; and critical organisational support needs including emotional intelligence training and clear hybrid policies. Organisations must implement targeted interventions including hybrid-specific leadership development programmes, formalised communication protocols, output-based performance systems, and systematic wellbeing support.
Keywords: {'name': 'hybrid work; line managers; leadership practices; Job Demands-Resources model; trust-based leadership'}
Authors & affiliations
Nelesh Dhanpat
University of Johannesburg
Jaymee-Lee Adams
University of Johannesburg
Ritkhat Bulus
University of Johannesburg
Mandisa Chibe
University of Johannesburg
Kimberleigh Delport
University of Johannesburg
Deposited references
Supplied references, not a list of publications citing this article.
No reference list supplied.