Abstract Hybrid work has become the norm post pandemic, yet organizing it effectively in agile software engineering requires understanding how individual and contextual factors shape preferences and behaviors. This study surveyed 65 agile practitioners to explore these influences. Respondents generally preferred flexible office attendance policies, but not full-time remote work. Larger teams expressed interest in agreed on presence at the office, while small or medium size teams leaned slightly more toward individual choice. Social interaction was a strong reason to come to the office, and most respondents viewed in-person meetings as highly beneficial for social and problem-solving activities. In virtual meetings, camera use was guided mainly by social presence and visibility, while multitasking activities were mostly meeting-supportive and work related, with managers and agile leaders reporting slightly higher levels of multitasking and significantly higher levels of camera use.

Background: Hybrid work, which combines remote and office work, has become common after the Covid-19 pandemic. While many software companies embrace hybrid work to retain talent, this shift challenges agile software development, which values in-person collaboration. However, adaptation is central to agility, so agile companies are adjusting to their evolving needs, including the rise of hybrid work. Aims: This study explores how different types of companies organize hybrid work in agile software development to fit their unique organizational contexts. Method: We conducted a comparative multiple case study based on 39 semi-structured interviews with developers, product owners, specialists, and managers from two companies. We studied two agile software development units at the Finnish R&D site of Ericsson, a mature global telecommunications company, and one unit at Kempower, a young Finnish industrial company. Results: The study found that hybrid work guidelines, infrastructures, events, and communities in agile software development varied significantly across the units, yet employees in each unit generally reported satisfaction with their arrangements. The approaches were shaped by multiple factors, e.g., how team members were dispersed geographically, whether collaboration was mainly internal or included external partners, and the company's maturity. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that there is no one-size-fits-all approach for agile software development in a hybrid work environment. Instead, the successful adoption of hybrid work requires context awareness.

The IT industry has undergone a significant transformation over the past years, and many companies and software teams have been experimenting with different policies and work arrangements. In this multiple-case study, we explore the evolution of organizational policies and the work arrangements of 28 agile teams, and report on their effects, based on interviews with seven individuals in leadership and support roles, from six companies. Our findings reveal the emergence of a dynamic and evolving spectrum of work arrangements and organizational policies, reflecting an increased flexibility in accommodating diverse work schedules and locations. We identified complex and interrelated impacts at the organizational, leadership, and team levels. At the organizational level, underutilized office spaces pose new challenges for resource management and strategic planning. At the leadership level, managers and team leaders reported diminished visibility and awareness of team activities under certain arrangements. At the team level, policies reshaped the physical and virtual workspace, influencing creativity, communication patterns, and coordination demands, with some arrangements requiring enhanced mechanisms for coordination. Our findings further substantiate concerns raised by both scholars and managers about the impacts of evolving organizational policies and work arrangements.