Hybrid Work Isn’t Killing Office Relationships — It’s Making Them Stronger

That is why firms such as SAP require employees to spend at least three days in the office, provoking a petition from more than 5,000 employees (Euronews, 2024). Deutsche Bank also implemented a three-day policy, which included Mondays and Fridays, that employees criticized as impractical due to limited space (Business Insider, 2024). The underlying logic is simple: more days in the office mean more communication, which in turn leads to stronger ties. 
However, our research, published in the Journal of Management Studies, reveals that this equation is incorrect. The problem isn’t how many days people sit in the office — the real driver of strong workplace relationships is whether employees feel they belong and identify with their organization.

We conducted two multi-wave studies to investigate the impact of hybrid work on workplace ties. In the first, 100 employees reported their concerns about losing contact with colleagues and how often they supported others over a ten-week period. In the second study, a preregistered replication involving 285 employees over three weeks, we tested whether these dynamics persisted once hybrid work had become routine. 
 
The findings were clear and consistent. Hybrid work heightened employees’ concern about relationship loss — a mental alarm that sounds even before real disconnection occurs. For employees with strong organizational identification, this concern sparked action: they proactively checked in, defended colleagues’ ideas, or offered help outside their formal tasks. These small gestures kept existing ties alive. 
 
For employees with weak identification, however, the concern about relationship loss rarely translated into action. Their ties were far more vulnerable. 
 
In short, hybrid work motivates people to protect their relationships — but only if they care enough about the organization.

 Mandates like those at SAP or Deutsche Bank assume that physical presence automatically builds bonds. Yet when employees lack identification, such policies can backfire, breeding frustration and undermining trust. By contrast, firms like Bosch, which follow a more trust-based “Smart Work” model where teams decide together how to balance remote and on-site work, focus on culture and autonomy rather than mere attendance (Bosch, n.d.). This approach aligns more closely with the psychological mechanisms our research uncovers.

For organizations everywhere, the message is clear: don’t mistake office presence for connection. Instead of prescribing headcounts, leaders should: 

• Strengthen identification by communicating a shared vision and celebrating team achievements. 

• Encourage relational maintenance behaviors such as mentoring, peer recognition, and informal check-ins. 

• Utilize office time strategically for collaboration and bonding, rather than as a compliance exercise. 

Hybrid work is not destroying relationships. The real risk is weak belonging. Get identity right, and employees will actively preserve the ties that keep organizations strong — no matter how many days they spend in the office. 

Bosch. (n.d.). Remote working at Bosch. Retrieved September 30, 2025.

Business Insider. (2024, February 2). Deutsche Bank staff criticize return-to-office mandate, saying there isn’t enough space. 

Euronews. (2024, February 2). ‘We feel betrayed’: SAP workers rebel against forced return to the office. 

Tröster, C., & Brosi, P. (2025). How hybrid work shapes communication ties: The role of concern about relationship loss and organizational identification. Journal of Management Studies. Advance online publication.