UC dean's research offers
hybrid work solutions
Fast Company highlights Lindner College of Business Dean Marianne Lewis
With hybrid work here to stay, employers need to develop more creative and productive solutions for their employees to work both from home and in the office, research from a University of Cincinnati dean found.
Marianne Lewis | Photo/Lisa Ventre/UC Marketing + Brand
Marianne Lewis, dean and professor of management at UC’s Carl H. Lindner College of Business, and Wendy Smith, the Dana J. Johnson professor of management at the University of Delaware’s Lerner College of Business and Economics, researched ways to best approach hybrid work schedules. They wrote about their findings in Fast Company.
Lewis and Smith found employers enjoy the benefits of working from home such as additional flexibility in their schedules and more time spent with family but often would burn out as lines between work and home blurred. Work in the office encourages collaboration and stronger social bonds with coworkers but can be rigid and limiting.
“Both/and thinking enables creative integrations in which each option benefits the other.”
— Marianne Lewis and Wendy Smith
“Having studied what we call 'both/and thinking' for the last 25 years, we know there’s a better approach,” Lewis and Smith wrote. “Rather than bland compromises that become worse for everyone, both/and thinking enables creative integrations in which each option benefits the other.”
Highlighting the efforts of Rocketbook, Lewis and Smith found there are ways to overcome the potential pitfalls of work from home and office work.
“They also recognized that the challenge of working from home was collaboration, and did all they could to create tools and cultures to make that better,” Lewis and Smith wrote. “Same for working from the office. The collaboration power of working together benefited from intentional opportunities to come together in the office and socially.”
Listen to Lewis on Harvard Business Review's IdeaCast podcast.
Lewis has also been featured in Newsweek, MarketWatch and more media.
Featured image at top/Unsplash
The future of work
What’s the future of work from home? UC business professors discuss the evolution of remote, hybrid work. Read more.
Next Lives Here
The University of Cincinnati is classified as a Research 1 institution by the Carnegie Commission and is ranked in the National Science Foundation's Top-35 public research universities. UC's medical, graduate and undergraduate students and faculty investigate problems and innovate solutions with real-world impact.
Next Lives Here.
Related Stories
UC enrolls first patients in clinical trial for prosthetic joint infections
April 10, 2026
The University of Cincinnati has enrolled the first patients in Peptilogics’ RETAIN clinical trial, testing an investigational drug for prosthetic joint infections after total knee replacement to reduce repeat surgeries and infection recurrence.
A picture-perfect finish for innovation at CEAS EXPO 2026
April 9, 2026
The CEAS EXPO 2026 brought together UC’s brightest engineers to display their forward-thinking projects, with multispectral camera Kromico earning the 1819 Innovation Award.
On the Green Dining Hall Earns National 4-Star Green Restaurant Certification
April 9, 2026
On the Green has earned a 4-Star Certified Green Restaurant designation from the Green Restaurant Association, achieving 365.5 GreenPoints for verified efforts in areas like waste reduction, water efficiency and sustainable food practices.
Long before machine guns, ancient Romans used this rapid-fire weapon
April 9, 2026
Smithsonian highlights research by UC Classics Professor Steven Ellis, who supervised archaeological work in the Porta Stabia neighborhood of Pompeii.
Lindner students recognized for success in academics, co-op and extracurriculars
April 9, 2026
On April 6, the Carl H. Lindner College of Business held its annual student awards ceremony, honoring the academic and professional accomplishments of Lindner students.
‘Mini-brain’ shines light on concussions
April 8, 2026
University of Cincinnati biomedical engineers developed a “mini-brain” model to study concussions and traumatic brain injury (TBI) from blunt-force trauma, revealing how cellular damage and inflammation may lead to long-term neurodegenerative disease.