Socialeconomic Projectseminar I+II: Interdisciplinary Seminar

Communication Networks in the Hybrid Work Environment

In a work environment where more than 25% of employees worldwide work in a hybrid model, the question of effective coordination, communication, and collaboration is becoming increasingly important. While hybrid work offers individual benefits such as greater autonomy and job satisfaction, it also presents new challenges for organizations: How do communication networks change in hybrid teams? What patterns emerge in the coordination between in-person and remote work? And what impact does hybrid work have on informal communication, team dynamics, and social well-being?

This interdisciplinary project seminar is dedicated to precisely these questions. The goal is to develop a deeper understanding of hybrid communication through a combination of experience sampling and digital interaction data. To achieve this, communication patterns are recorded using smartphone-based short surveys and technologies such as Bluetooth beacons. After a pilot study in the summer semester, a comprehensive data collection will take place in the winter semester within an organization utilizing hybrid work models. (See accompanying seminar: Methods of Empirical Communication Research)

The project will be offered in the summer semester of 2025 and the winter semester of 2025/26 as an interdisciplinary seminar in cooperation with the Assistant Professorship for Communication Science.