Purpose
The shift to hybrid work, broadly defined as the transition between traditional and non-traditional work modes enabled by digital technologies, has profoundly impacted university campuses, which function both as educational institutions and major employment centres. Despite their significance, adapting hybrid work models within universities remains under-explored in academic research. This study aims to investigate how university real estate support teams perceive challenges stemming from the adoption of hybrid work.

Design/methodology/approach
Through thematic content analysis, a narrative review of 27 studies identified three dimensions of challenges: spatial challenges in campus planning from a real estate perspective, psychosocial challenges for employees and organisational challenges shaping spatial strategies. In total, 12 higher-level spatial challenges were identified and discussed in a Delphi workshop involving representatives from 12 of the 14 Dutch universities. Group discussions revealed three additional challenges not identified in the literature review.

Findings
Through three rounds of prioritisation, the five most critical challenges emerged: preventing resistance to changes, balancing employee autonomy and control, supporting individual and group needs, accommodating diverse work types and individual preferences and managing underutilised space without overcrowding.

Practical implications
Co-creating university spaces between real estate teams and campus employees, coupled with extended change management periods, seems crucial for stakeholder engagement and successful transitions. These findings highlight an urgent need for targeted research and context-specific strategies to navigate hybrid work within university frameworks.

Originality/value
This paper’s originality lies in addressing the often-overlooked influence of hybrid work on university staff within campus spatial planning. It identifies the most critical challenges in spatial planning in implementing hybrid work in university campus settings.

BACKGROUND: During the COVID-19 pandemic, office workers were obliged to work from home (WFH). Alongside known positive aspects of home-based telework, it is associated with reduced health and productivity impacts. Its success depends on employee and environmental characteristics. OBJECTIVE: This paper fills the gap in knowledge on the mediating role of health between personal and environmental factors and employee productivity, when obliged to work from home full-time. It covers health in full (physical, mental, and social) unlike other WFH studies. METHODS: Two large survey-based datasets (gathered April 27th - November 20th, 2020) were analysed resp. with a path model and descriptive analyses. The data provide experiences on health and productivity of resp. 25,058 and 18,859 Dutch office workers from different public organisations, who were obliged to work from home during the COVID-19 lockdowns. RESULTS: In general, the workers in the sample perceived their health to be quite good. Path analysis revealed that gender, age, education, the at-home workspace, the presence of children in the household, and perceived organisational support were significantly related to self-perceived productivity. However, most of these effects were found to be mediated by physical, mental, and/or social health indicators. Possible explanations for health issues from the descriptive analyses were sedentary behaviour, unsuitable furniture, having to be at home, social isolation and changed content and frequency of contact with colleagues. CONCLUSION: Findings imply that specifically engagement and organisational support of teleworkers are most relevant to steer on to ensure productivity while WFH.