NAVIGATING ENGAGEMENT IN HYBRID WORKPLACES: REIMAGINING LMX LEADERSHIP WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF CO-WORKING

Abstract

As hybrid work becomes the defining structure of contemporary organizations, understanding how leadership affects employee engagement is both timely and critical. This conceptual paper extends Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) theory to address the relational and motivational complexities experienced by employees in hybrid work environments, with particular reference to the organizational context of WeWork—a global co-working firm characterized by flexible and digitally mediated work practices. Building on Kahn’s theory of employee engagement, the paper introduces a theoretical extension of LMX to hybrid settings, emphasizing how leader–member relationships are enacted and sustained across virtual and physical boundaries. It is proposed that the quality of these exchanges—mediated through digital communication and hybrid interaction—plays a central role in fostering the core relational dimensions of high-quality LMX: affect, loyalty, contribution, and professional respect. By situating LMX within the temporal, spatial, and technological realities of hybrid work, this paper contributes to the theoretical advancement of LMX by situating it within contemporary hybrid work paradigms and offers implications for leadership development aimed at enhancing engagement among distributed and digitally connected workforces. Methodologically, this conceptual extension will be informed by a systematic literature review on LMX and employee engagement within hybrid work environments, synthesizing prior empirical findings to derive theoretical propositions. Future empirical validation is envisioned through a quantitative research design, analyzing with a quantitative survey study to statistically assess the proposed framework.