Perspectives on workplace communication and well-being in hybrid work environments

"The world is facing the Covid-19 pandemic for over two years now. Daily life changed dramatically, and social distancing and remote working has become the "new normal". Several countries, as is the case of Portugal, underwent multiple lockdown periods during which many work activities became hybrid or completely remote. Research about how people are facing these challenges, conducted in different geographies, point to common findings and concerns. First, the pandemic has enhanced inequalities regarding income, access to digital technology, learning, working and even wellbeing and affection. Second, the pandemic has taken a toll on the mental health of many people, with anxiety and depression being the most common consequences. Finally, the use of digital technologies, for fun, for learning, for social relations but also for working has increased significantly. In addition, after the first lockdown, many people didn't fully go back to their pre-pandemic routines, having maintained a more frequent and intense use of digital technologies, which has been reinforced by a second period of lockdown and remote working. At the same time, many workers are suffering from "digital fatigue" and struggle to self-regulate their life/work balance, as the permanent digital connection to work is reinforced and they struggle with blurred borders concerning privacy, leisure, or rest. In this context, it is vital to research about how organizations reinvented themselves to cope with the Covid-19 pandemic and understanding which of the reactive workplace communication practices and improvised solutions were considered advantageous and persisted in a post-pandemic setting. In addition, it is relevant to understand the perspective of the workers and to assess how these changes in their workplace (physical and/or virtual) communication (both formal and informal) impacted their wellbeing. This book aims, therefore, to realize how workers are coping with these new workplace communication practices, the advantages and disadvantages of these changes, emergent needs, and how organizations can reinvent themselves in order to promote the wellbeing and happiness of their members"--