Employee Mental Health in the Era of Hybrid Work: The Role of Work–Life Boundaries, Flexibility, and Organizational Support

Abstract

This study aimed to explain employees’ lived experiences of mental health in hybrid workplaces and identify how work–life boundaries, perceived flexibility, and organizational support shape those experiences. A qualitative design based on conventional content analysis was employed. Participants were 24 employees working in Tehran-based organizations who had at least six months of experience with a hybrid work arrangement. Purposive maximum-variation sampling was used to obtain diversity in gender, age, marital status, occupational tenure, organizational position, and employment sector. Data were collected exclusively through individual semi-structured interviews lasting approximately 45–75 minutes. Data collection continued until theoretical saturation was reached. Saturation occurred after the twenty-second interview, and two additional interviews were conducted to confirm informational adequacy. Interviews were transcribed verbatim, organized using NVivo version 14, and analyzed through initial coding, constant comparison, integration of conceptually similar codes, and development of subcategories and main categories. Credibility and dependability were enhanced through member checking, peer review, maintenance of an audit trail, prolonged engagement with the data, and maximum-variation sampling. Four main categories emerged: “permeable boundaries and the always-online mind,” “conditional flexibility and restoration of control,” “organizational support as a psychological shield,” and “social connection, fairness, and visibility in the hybrid workplace.” Participants reported that reduced commuting, control over scheduling, and the ability to coordinate personal responsibilities could improve calmness, concentration, and job satisfaction. Conversely, permanent availability expectations, overlap between home and work spaces, extended working hours, digital surveillance, professional isolation, and ambiguity in performance evaluation were associated with anxiety, emotional exhaustion, and impaired psychological recovery. Supportive supervision, trust, clear expectations, the right to disconnect, adequate technological resources, and equitable access to career opportunities were identified as protective conditions. Hybrid work is neither inherently beneficial nor inherently harmful to employee mental health. Its effects depend on job design, employees’ control over work–life boundaries, the authenticity of flexibility, leadership practices, and organizational support. Organizations should move beyond symbolic flexibility and establish explicit availability norms, manageable workloads, supportive leadership, purposeful communication, fair performance systems, and opportunities for meaningful social interaction.