Focus Research Project 1: " Reshaping the work experience"

Reshaping the work experience A fascinating project launched in July 2020

Research context

This project has been designed with VPHR from different business lines in July 2020 and launched within BNP Paribas in September 2020, in order to fully understand the challenges of remote & hybrid work.

It has reached over 12.000 participants within BNP Paribas (WM, AM, RE, IRB headquarter & Bank of the West, Spain territory, over a six months period with 4 data collections from September 2020 to February 2021. Being ahead of the hybrid work trend, this research project was one of the very first to address this key issue on such a global scale and has been rewarded by a prestigious award from the Academy of Management [link?].

Research question

How does hybrid work influence employees' work experiences regarding team cohesion, performance, well-being and engagement?

Methodology and milestones

An online questionnaire was administrated 4 times (Sept, Nov, Jan, March) in 3 different languages (English, French, Spanish) with 1000 to 4000 answers.

This methodology enables to follow the changes at hand in a situation that has been evolving throughout the project.

  • First two waves analysed in Q2 2021
  • Global results will be delivered in Q3 2022

Research team

  • Marie-Colombe Afota (Université de Montréal)
  • Emmanuelle Léon (ESCP, Paris campus)
  • Ariane Ollier-Malaterre (UQAM)
  • Yannick Provost-Savard (UQAM)

Research keytake aways

Productivity is on the rise, due to reduced transportation time (often devoted to work). The number of working hours is similar when employees are on-site or remote.

One-third of the participants consider that physical presence at the office remains a signal of their engagement, which will be taken into account for their promotion.

When companies value physical presence, teleworkers try to compensate their absence by being available outside working hours. Availability off-site has replaced visibility on-site. This trend is stronger in countries where employment is less protected.

Managing by objectives, delegating and trusting one's teams remains a challenge for both managers and employees. Areas of improvements have been identified.

Attention points: Informal networking/ exposition, Identification of weak signals, Professional mobility.

12 Research projects from the Reinventing Work Chair

By bringing together academics and professionals, the Chair facilitates renewed theoretical and practical views of the following key topics:

 

 

Key outcomes

External ecosystem

Shared research outputs / Awards and articles

"Work-From-Home Adjustment in the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Role of Psychological Climate for Face Time“

  • Awarded the price of best paper with international implications by the Academy of Management [link] 
  • Currently under review at The International Journal of Human Resource Management [link]

"To demonstrate their commitment, teleworkers are making themselves more available than ever”, The Conversation, 2021

  • Participation to a podcast on The Conversation UK [link]

BNP Paribas internal ecosystem

BNPP testimony regarding the results/takeaways

In-depth analysis of the results has been performed through a partnership with Towers Watson Willis, giving each entity the possibility to better understand their results.
SHM programme workshops.
Conference cycle on new ways of working, remote management and hybrid work.

"This research project has been very conclusive and helpful for us as HR professionals. It has indeed been realized on a large perimeter enabling to gather a wide range of data. It offered us the opportunity to better understand
underlying trends, identify weak signals and anticipate the impacts on our behaviours. This research project gives us strong orientations about needed adaptations on each of the 4 pillars of Smartworking programme, connecting
the dots!"
Claire Maldera, Head of Human Resources, BNP Paribas Wealth Management
 

Campus

Paris