Volume 1 - Issue 4, November - December 2025

The global adoption of remote and hybrid work models has fundamentally reshaped organizational landscapes, employee experiences, and the concept of engagement in the contemporary workplace. This comprehensive study critically examines the nuanced impact of remote, hybrid, and onsite work models on employee engagement, drawing on an extensive mixed-method analysis conducted with 50 employees across IT, finance, and education sectors, complemented by synthesis of recent global research from 2024-2025. Key Findings: Hybrid employees consistently score highest on engagement indices (mean = 7.5/10), compared to remote (mean = 6.8/10) and onsite (mean = 6.2/10) workers—a pattern corroborated by Gallup's 2024 research indicating engagement rates of 36% among hybrid workers versus 31% fully remote and 19% fully onsite. The research identifies four primary engagement drivers— technology quality (β = 0.48), managerial support (β = 0.42), recognition fairness (β = 0.38), and communication frequency (β = 0.31)—collectively explaining 68% of engagement variance. A critical paradox emerged: fully remote workers report highest engagement (31%) yet lowest well-being, with 45% reporting elevated stress levels and 27% experiencing loneliness. This challenges assumptions that high engagement automatically indicates positive organizational experiences. Hybrid arrangements achieve both superior engagement and better psychological well-being, supporting both autonomy and belonging needs. Strategic interventions including technology infrastructure investment, digital recognition systems, leadership development, and structured communication protocols demonstrably sustain engagement across distributed work contexts.