Conceptualizing Phygital Work Experience (PH-WX): A Framework for Enhanced Employee Well-Being

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Authors: Amie Gustafsson, Boris Bartikowski, Kara Marina Lund, Sara Gori, Elisa Mameli
Cited by: 2
References: 86

Abstract

Hybrid work has turned employee experience into a phygital phenomenon, in which physical and digital experiences jointly shape well-being and organizational performance. Yet existing employee experience models often treat physical and digital domains as isolated, parallel, or only partially connected, offering limited insight into how their interaction produces coherence or tension in employees lived work experiences. This conceptual article develops the Phygital Work Experience (PH-WX) framework to theorize work experience within an integrated physical and digital environment. We introduce a dual-realm conceptualization of work experience as 4Ps (Person, People, Purpose, Place) and 4Ds (Design, Data, Device, Decision) and define phygital work congruence as the degree to which the 4Ps and 4Ds align to support coherent, meaningful, and psychologically supportive work. Drawing on employee well-being research, internal market orientation, sociotechnical systems, and paradox theory, we theorize how phygital congruence and misalignment in work experience emerge across three levels: micro (broader employee experience), meso (leadership, culture, HRM, infrastructure, ethical governance), and macro (economic, technological, socio-cultural, institutional forces). The paper contributes to macromarketing by offering a human-centric lens for analyzing and designing hybrid work experiences.

Fields of Study & Subjects

Digital Economy and Work Transformation Facilities and Workplace Management Emotional Labor in Professions

Publication details

Journal / source
Journal of Macromarketing
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Volume
46
Issue
3
Pages
446–462
Publication date
17 February 2026
Language
EN