Title: Remote and Hybrid Work in the Public Sector: A Scoping Review of Employee Performance, Well-Being, Organizational Readiness, and Management Practices
Authors: Richard C. Pasco
Volume: 10
Issue: 6
Pages: 184-192
Publication Date: 2026/06/28
Abstract:
Remote and hybrid work have moved from exceptional workplace arrangements to strategic human resource management concerns in many public organizations. Yet, the effects of these arrangements cannot be assumed to be uniformly positive or negative because public-service work differs in task interdependence, citizen contact, information sensitivity, accountability, and the need for continuity during disruptions. This scoping review mapped what is known about remote and hybrid work among public-sector employees, with attention to employee performance, well-being, organizational readiness, and management practices. Guided by Arksey and O'Malley's framework, Levac and colleagues' refinements, the JBI guidance for scoping reviews, and PRISMA-ScR, the review used a Population-Concept-Context lens. The population included public-sector employees, supervisors, and agencies; the concept covered telework, remote work, hybrid work, employee outcomes, organizational readiness, and management; and the context encompassed government agencies and public administrations. A targeted web-accessible search of peer-reviewed studies, reviews, and authoritative government and international reports published from 2007 to 21 June 2026 was conducted. Twenty-six substantive sources were charted. Five themes emerged: (1) remote and hybrid work can support task performance and service continuity when work is suitable and outcomes are explicit, (2) flexibility may improve autonomy, satisfaction, and retention but can also heighten isolation, boundary strain, and inequity, (3) organizational readiness requires digital infrastructure, secure systems, role-based eligibility, and fair access, (4) hybrid work requires outcome-based supervision, intentional communication, coordinated team routines, and manager capability, and (5) public-service missions require differentiated designs for citizen-facing and interdependent work rather than uniform return-to-office or remote-work rules. An emergent framework is proposed to guide public human resource management. The review concludes that sustainable remote or hybrid work in government depends on fit among public-service tasks, employee needs, institutional capacity, and accountable management practices.