Shams Tabraze Uddin Ahmed, Wahid bin Ahsan
Department of Human-Centered Design, Userhub, Dhaka, Bangladesh

Abstract

This study examines how small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Bangladesh culturally and operationally adapted to remote and hybrid work, focusing on communication, leadership visibility, organizational culture, employee engagement, and HR practices. Drawing on 15 semi-structured interviews with CEOs, managers, employees, and HR consultants, the study uses thematic analysis to explore how relational dynamics and informal practices were reshaped in resource-constrained contexts. Six themes emerged: communication and collaboration breakdowns; leadership visibility and accountability gaps; fragile cultural continuity; reliance on digital tools with uneven skills; challenges in engagement, well-being, and work–life balance; and ad-hoc HR adaptations. SMEs experimented with measures such as wellness sessions and virtual social activities, but these often remained unsystematic and difficult to sustain. The analysis highlights the need for clearer communication protocols, intentional leadership presence, reinforcement of cultural rituals, structured digital training, and lightweight HR frameworks. The study contributes by extending remote work research to an emerging economy, introducing the concept of symbolic presence as a dimension of leadership visibility in virtual settings, and reframing SME cultural adaptation as preservation rather than reinvention. The findings offer contextual insights into how Bangladeshi SMEs can balance flexibility with minimal structures to maintain employee relations and organizational culture.

Keywords: Remote work, Hybrid work, Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), Organizational culture, Employee relations, Leadership visibility, Symbolic presence, Employee engagement, Work–life balance, Human resource management (HRM), Digital skills, Bangladesh

Introduction

The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the adoption of remote and hybrid work worldwide, reshaping how organizations coordinate tasks, sustain culture, and manage employee relations (Bilderback & Kilpatrick, 2024; Raghuram, 2021). While large corporations have attracted most of the scholarly and practitioner attention, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) face distinctive challenges. SMEs often operate with limited resources, informal structures, and owner-driven HR practices (Benmore & Palmer, 1996; Nadin & Cassell, 2007). These features can provide agility but also expose vulnerabilities in remote settings where informal communication and proximity-based leadership are difficult to sustain.

In Bangladesh, SMEs are especially significant, contributing around 25 per cent of GDP and employing approximately 70–80 per cent of the non-agricultural workforce (Asian Development Bank, 2021). For these firms, the move to remote work represented both disruption and experimentation. Unlike multinational corporations with established infrastructures, Bangladeshi SMEs often lack formal HR systems, face uneven digital skills, and depend heavily on in-person interactions. Understanding how they adapted is therefore important for both scholars of employee relations and policymakers concerned with the sustainability of this crucial sector.

Organizational culture and employee relations are central to SME effectiveness (Atkinson et al., 2022; Tuukkanen et al., 2022). While existing studies confirm that culture influences communication, leadership, and engagement, most of this literature is grounded in large-firm or advanced-economy contexts (Asatiani et al., 2021; Qin, 2025). In developing economies, research has focused largely on technology adoption (Al Khalifa, 2025; Kallmuenzer et al., 2025), with limited attention to cohesion, trust, or HR adaptation in remote work. Early evidence from Bangladesh suggests that while digital tools helped SMEs maintain operations, communication breakdowns and cultural fragility persisted (Islam et al., 2021).

Research gap. This study addresses three shortcomings in existing literature. First, SME adaptation to remote work remains under-examined, with research typically centered on large organizations or treating SMEs as a homogeneous category (Parker & Castleman, 2007). Second, the cultural and relational aspects of adaptation—such as leadership visibility, informal rituals, and psychological contracts—are rarely analyzed despite their centrality to employee relations. Third, empirical evidence from South Asia is sparse, even though SMEs are a cornerstone of regional economies (Nabi et al., 2025; Salamat & Sarsale, 2025).

This article explores how Bangladeshi SMEs adapted culturally and operationally to remote and hybrid work, based on interviews with CEOs, managers, employees, and HR consultants. It makes three contributions. First, it extends remote work research by analyzing SMEs in an emerging economy, foregrounding the fragility of informal practices under remote conditions. Second, it advances employee relations scholarship by conceptualizing symbolic presence as a dimension of leadership visibility. Third, it provides contextual insights into how SMEs in Bangladesh balance informality with lightweight structures to sustain culture and engagement.

The article proceeds as follows. The next section reviews literature on remote work, organizational culture, SMEs, and HR practices. Methodology is then outlined, followed by presentation of findings across six themes. The discussion interprets these findings in relation to prior scholarship and draws out implications before the conclusion.

Methodology

Research design

This study employed a qualitative research design using semi-structured interviews to explore how Bangladeshi SMEs adapted culturally and operationally to remote and hybrid work. Qualitative inquiry was appropriate because the aim was to capture lived experiences, relational dynamics, and cultural practices that cannot be adequately addressed through surveys (Creswell & Poth, 2018). Prior research highlights the symbolic and relational basis of SME practices (Cassell et al., 2002; Nadin & Cassell, 2007), making interviews particularly suitable for eliciting depth and nuance.

Sampling and participants

A purposive sampling strategy identified participants with direct experience of SME remote work. The sample comprised 15 participants: three CEOs/owners, four line-managers, five employees, and three HR consultants. This ensured representation across strategic, managerial, frontline, and advisory roles. Participants came from sectors including technology, professional services, and manufacturing, reflecting the heterogeneity of the SME sector. Recruitment was conducted through professional networks, alumni contacts, and snowball referrals. All participants had at least three months’ experience of remote or hybrid work during the pandemic.

Data collection

Data were collected between March and July 2023. Interviews were conducted via Zoom, Google Meet, or telephone depending on preference and connectivity, lasting 45–70 minutes. All were audio-recorded with consent.

The interview guide covered:

• communication and collaboration before and during remote work,
• leadership visibility and accountability,
• experiences of cultural continuity and fragmentation,
• digital tools and training,
• engagement, well-being, and work–life balance,
• emerging HR practices.

The guide was flexible, allowing participants to elaborate on relevant issues. Field notes captured contextual observations, such as pauses, tone, and rapport.

Data analysis

Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006). Six iterative steps were followed: (1) familiarization, (2) generating codes, (3) searching for themes, (4) reviewing themes, (5) defining and naming themes, and (6) producing the report. Themes were identified across transcripts, refined for coherence, and supported with illustrative quotations.

Coding was conducted manually using Microsoft Word and Excel. A second researcher independently reviewed a subset of transcripts and coding categories to enhance reliability. Differences were discussed and resolved. In line with Braun and Clarke’s sixth step, illustrative data excerpts were systematically selected to evidence each theme.

Ethics and consent

All participants provided verbal informed consent before interviews were conducted. They were assured that participation was voluntary, confidentiality would be maintained, and pseudonyms (e.g., “CEO 1,” “Manager 2”) would be used in reporting. Identifying details were removed from transcripts, and data were stored securely on password-protected drives. Participants were informed of their right to withdraw at any stage without consequence.

Limitations

The small qualitative sample limits generalizability. Findings rely on self-reported experiences, though triangulation across roles helped mitigate bias. Future research could employ comparative or longitudinal designs to capture broader and evolving dynamics.

Literature Review

Remote work and organizational culture

Remote and hybrid work have reshaped organizational culture by replacing traditional markers of visibility and co-presence with performance-based measures (Bilderback & Kilpatrick, 2024). While remote work increases flexibility, it can also fragment identity, reduce knowledge sharing, and isolate employees (Raghuram, 2021; Yaqub, 2025).Large virtual firms have responded by codifying values through ‘digital artifacts’ such as culture handbooks (Asatiani et al., 2021). Yet the ability of SMEs, particularly in resource-constrained contexts, to enact comparable cultural adaptations remains unclear.

Cultural values and norms in SMEs

Cultural values influence SME capacity for organizational change. Openness and trust can facilitate adaptation (Tuukkanen et al., 2022), while rigid or gendered norms can constrain it (Díaz-Arancibia et al., 2023). In Bangladesh, risk aversion and family influence shape entrepreneurship and innovation (Emon & Khan, 2023). Studies show SMEs must actively adapt their values to sustain employee performance in remote work (Okello Candiya Bongomin & Munene, 2021; STERJO, 2023). Thus, cultural norms are not neutral backdrops but active determinants of how SMEs manage cohesion, motivation, and performance.

Communication and collaboration in SMEs

SMEs frequently report communication barriers in remote work. Research on Bangladeshi SMEs identifies inadequate ICT skills, turnover, and financial constraints as obstacles (Islam et al., 2021). Rural firms also face infrastructure gaps (Liukkunen et al., 2010). While tools like Slack and Zoom enhance coordination, they can cause digital fatigue (Jaizul & Lianingsih, 2025). Comparative studies show face-to-face interaction still outperforms digital modes for trust-building (Kordova & Hirschprung, 2023). Frameworks propose structured communication strategies for SMEs (Krishnan & Ahmad, 2019; Rottensteiner & Ploder, 2022), underscoring that tool adoption must be paired with explicit protocols.

Leadership visibility and styles

Leadership is a critical determinant of employee relations in remote contexts. Visibility becomes especially important when physical presence is absent (Kloepfer & Carbon, 2025). Transparent communication and authentic behaviours sustain trust (Fischer et al., 2023; Qin, 2025). In SMEs, entrepreneurial, transformational, and democratic styles are most commonly linked to performance (Alifah & Sukmawati, 2021; Bojadjiev et al., 2019). Remote work challenges these practices by removing symbolic presence, requiring leaders to deliberately design visibility into routines.

Employee engagement, well-being, and work–life balance

The impact of remote work on engagement is complex. Some studies highlight gains in autonomy and satisfaction (Fatima et al., 2024; Jawabri et al., 2022), while others emphasize risks of isolation and declining motivation (Adisa et al., 2023; Pura, 2022). Blurred work–life boundaries are widely identified as stressors, particularly for younger employees and caregivers (Hwang, 2025; Mohite & -, 2025). In SMEs, recognition and feedback are especially critical for sustaining engagement (Wang et al., 2025). Psychological contract research shows relational contracts, grounded in trust and autonomy, can buffer against disengagement  (Ponnapalli et al., 2023).

HRM in SMEs

HR practices in SMEs are typically informal, shaped by owner–manager discretion and resource limits. Informality fosters agility but also fragility (Benmore & Palmer, 1996; Janhonen & Taipale, 2017). Informal learning dominates training (Johnson, 2002), though formal approaches improve outcomes (Jayawarna et al., 2007). COVID-19 prompted SME HR adaptation, including new well-being initiatives and flexible performance systems (Ambarwati et al., 2024; Galanti et al., 2023). However, many adaptations remain ad hoc and fragile (Fatima et al., 2024).

Research gaps

Despite progress, gaps remain. SMEs are often treated as homogeneous, obscuring sectoral and ownership diversity (Parker & Castleman, 2007). South Asian contexts are under-researched despite SMEs’ economic importance (Islam et al., 2021; Salamat & Sarsale, 2025). Conceptually, many models of remote work adopt static, team-level perspectives that underplay the dynamic interplay between culture, relationships, and context. Cramton and Cramton & Hinds (2014) argue cultural adaptation is best understood as embedded and relational, a perspective still rare in SME research. This study addresses these gaps through a focus on Bangladeshi SMEs, examining how cultural and relational factors shape adaptation.

Findings

Analysis of 15 interviews with CEOs, managers, employees, and HR consultants revealed six interconnected themes shaping SME adaptation. These themes highlight operational adjustments and cultural shifts that redefined employee relations in small firms.

Communication and collaboration: from immediacy to mediation

Participants described delays, repeated clarifications, and weaker brainstorming. A manager noted: “In-house, problems get solved instantly. But in remote, miscommunication or delayed responses slow everything down” (Manager 1). Employees echoed this frustration, while CEOs highlighted client-facing risks. Tools such as Slack and Zoom supported tasks but could not replicate immediacy, especially for problem-solving and idea generation.

Leadership visibility and accountability gaps

Leaders were widely perceived as less visible in remote contexts. Employees felt recognition weakened: “Sometimes I don’t feel my work is noticed the way it was in the office” (Employee 3). Managers observed accountability gaps: “Real-time feedback was harder, and employees’ accountability reduced” (Manager 1). CEOs acknowledged the difficulty of sustaining symbolic impact, and consultants emphasized that visibility must be actively designed into routines.

Cultural continuity versus fragmentation

Transparent and participatory cultures helped some SMEs adapt, but sustaining cohesion was difficult without in-person interaction. Managers observed: “Virtual team-building sessions don’t work well… direct relationships are more effective face-to-face” (Manager 1). Employees described detachment when informal bonding disappeared. Consultants argued SMEs underestimated the symbolic importance of rituals, leaving culture fragile in hybrid environments.

Technology reliance and uneven digital skills

SMEs relied heavily on tools such as Trello and Google Drive but lacked structured training. One employee reflected: “We learned the tools by trial and error. There was no formal training” (Employee 4). Consultants confirmed that adoption was improvised, resulting in uneven digital fluency and inconsistent use across teams.

Engagement, well-being, and work–life balance

Employees valued flexibility but struggled to maintain boundaries: “Home felt like forever-work without a clear shut-off” (Employee 6). Managers reported disengagement and fatigue, while CEOs emphasized balance. Consultants warned that blurred boundaries, if unaddressed, could undermine trust and retention.

Ad-hoc adaptation and emerging HR practices

SMEs experimented with wellness sessions and structured check-ins, though these were widely seen as temporary fixes. As one CEO explained: “We arrange wellness sessions for remote staff, but they feel more like temporary fixes” (CEO 1). Consultants argued that without formal frameworks, such practices remain fragile.

Integrative summary

Taken together, these findings show SMEs navigated remote work with creativity but also fragility. Informal communication norms, once strengths, became liabilities without physical presence. Leadership visibility had to be deliberately designed. Cultural rituals struggled to translate virtually. Employees experienced blurred boundaries and stress, while managers improvised HR solutions that lacked sustainability. Sustained adaptation requires protocols, leadership visibility, cultural reinforcement, digital training, and systematic HR practices.

Table 1: Thematic analysis of remote work in Bangladeshi SMEs

Theme	Codes (from transcripts)	Illustrative Evidence (Quotes)	Implications for SMEs
1. Communication and Collaboration Breakdowns	Miscommunication; delays; reduced brainstorming; difficulty synchronizing tasks	“In-house, problems get solved instantly. Remote means delayed responses.” (Manager) “Idea sharing became less frequent.” (Manager)	Clearer communication protocols and structured collaboration practices are needed.
2. Leadership Visibility and Accountability Gaps	Leadership less present; reduced motivation; weaker accountability	“Leadership felt less visible, and motivation dropped.” (Manager) “Work importance was harder to sense.” (Employee)	Leaders should ensure visibility through regular check-ins and recognition practices.
3. Cultural Continuity vs. Fragmentation	Transparency partially maintained; weaker virtual bonding; fragile engagement	“Virtual team-building doesn’t work as well as face-to-face.” (Manager)   “Our culture is transparent, but some feel isolated.” (CEO)	Combine digital engagement with occasional in-person bonding to preserve cohesion.
4. Technology Reliance and Digital Skills Gaps	Slack, Zoom, Trello, Google Drive; informal learning; lack of training	“Slack and Zoom are daily tools, but no formal training.” (Consultant)   “Task tools help, but real-time feedback is still hard.” (Manager)	Structured digital training and formal adoption strategies are essential.
5. Engagement, Well-being, and Work–Life Balance	Burnout; blurred boundaries; isolation; uneven productivity	“Working from home blurred personal and office time.” (Employee) “Engagement drops when employees feel isolated.” (Manager)	Policies must protect well-being and workload boundaries while ensuring inclusion.
6. Ad-hoc Adaptation and Emerging HR Practices	Wellness sessions; virtual brainstorming; reactive HR	“Wellness sessions felt like temporary fixes.” (CEO) “SMEs need to formalize practices to be sustainable.” (Consultant)	Ad-hoc measures should be formalized into systematic HR frameworks.

Notes: SME = small and medium-sized enterprises; HR = human resources.

Discussion

This study examined how Bangladeshi SMEs navigated remote and hybrid work, drawing on interviews with CEOs, managers, employees, and HR consultants. Six themes emerged: communication and collaboration breakdowns, leadership visibility and accountability gaps, cultural continuity versus fragmentation, reliance on technology with uneven digital skills, challenges in engagement and well-being, and ad-hoc HR practices. This section situates these findings in relation to prior literature and highlights cross-cutting insights and theoretical contributions.

Communication and collaboration: informal norms under pressure

Communication breakdowns were central to participants’ accounts, echoing studies of Bangladeshi SMEs that highlight barriers such as limited ICT skills and turnover (Islam et al., 2021). International research confirms that while tools like Slack and Zoom enhance coordination, they cannot replicate trust and synergy developed in face-to-face contexts (Jaizul & Lianingsih, 2025; Kordova & Hirschprung, 2023). Frameworks for SME communication (Krishnan & Ahmad, 2019; Rottensteiner & Ploder, 2022)  underline the need for explicit protocols. This study extends prior work by showing how informality, long a cultural strength of SMEs, became a liability in remote settings when physical cues were absent.

Leadership visibility and accountability: from presence to design

Leaders were widely seen as less visible online. Employees reported feeling that their work went unnoticed, and managers found accountability difficult to enforce. These findings align with research emphasizing the importance of transparent communication and authentic leadership in hybrid contexts (Fischer et al., 2023; Qin, 2025). In SMEs, performance has long been associated with entrepreneurial or democratic leadership (Alifah & Sukmawati, 2021; Bojadjiev et al., 2019). Remote work disrupted these informal, proximity-based styles. Our study contributes by introducing the concept of symbolic presence: visibility that must be deliberately designed into routines through check-ins, recognition, and rituals.

Cultural continuity and fragmentation: fragile rituals

Efforts to maintain cohesion through virtual team-building were largely ineffective. This resonates with findings that rituals and informal interactions are central to sustaining culture (STERJO, 2023; Tuukkanen et al., 2022). Large virtual firms have developed digital artifacts to reinforce identity (Asatiani et al., 2021), but SMEs rarely have the resources to do so. Our findings suggest that in resource-constrained contexts, cultural adaptation is experienced less as reinvention than as preservation: SMEs seek to defend fragile cultural bonds rather than engineer new digital cultures.

Technology adoption and uneven digital skills: improvisation without integration

Participants emphasized reliance on affordable digital platforms, but also uneven competencies and a lack of training. This reflects long-standing research showing SMEs depend on informal learning (Johnson, 2002; Oyelaran-Oyeyinka & Lal, 2006)  despite evidence that formal training produces stronger outcomes (Jayawarna et al., 2007). Global studies cite managerial literacy, incentives, and collaborations as enablers (Al Khalifa, 2025; Kallmuenzer et al., 2025), yet Bangladeshi SMEs largely improvised. The result was “tool without training”: adoption without integration, leaving digital competence fragile and inconsistent.

Engagement, well-being, and work–life balance: autonomy under strain

Employees appreciated flexibility but described blurred boundaries and stress. This mirrors broader research on remote work’s contradictory impacts (Adisa et al., 2023; Fatima et al., 2024; Jawabri et al., 2022). Well-being studies consistently highlight risks of overwork and isolation (Hwang, 2025; Mohite & -, 2025). Our findings extend psychological contract research (Nadin & Cassell, 2007; Ponnapalli et al., 2023) by showing that in SMEs, the contract is reframed around balancing autonomy with recognition. In the absence of formal HR systems, managers bore heightened responsibility for sustaining engagement.

Ad-hoc HR practices: agility without sustainability

SMEs responded with wellness sessions and structured check-ins, but these were widely perceived as temporary. This is consistent with classical research showing HR in SMEs is informal and owner-driven (Benmore & Palmer, 1996; Nadin & Cassell, 2007). While informality allows flexibility, it produces fragility (Janhonen & Taipale, 2017). COVID-19 spurred innovation (Ambarwati et al., 2024; Galanti et al., 2023), but in Bangladesh these remained improvisational. Our findings underscore that resilience requires lightweight formalization: basic frameworks for recognition, well-being, and performance that are sustainable within SME resource constraints.

Cross-cutting insights

Across all themes, a common pattern emerges: practices once sustained by proximity and informality became liabilities under remote conditions. SMEs showed ingenuity but struggled to translate informal strengths into digital forms. Resilience requires light formalization: codified but minimal structures that preserve culture and trust while enabling consistent performance.

Theoretical contributions

This study contributes to the literature in three ways:

1. Extending remote work research to SMEs in an emerging economy, showing how informality magnifies fragility under remote conditions.
2. Introducing symbolic presence as a dimension of leadership visibility that must be designed rather than assumed.
3. Reframing cultural adaptation in SMEs as preservation under constraint, contrasting with reinvention narratives dominant in large-firm literature.

Practical Implications

This study provides lessons for SME leaders, HR practitioners, and policymakers:

• Codify communication protocols: Establish agreed response times, shared task boards, and scheduled check-ins to reduce miscommunication.
• Design leadership visibility: Embed visibility into routines via weekly briefings, symbolic recognition, and one-to-one feedback.
• Reinforce cultural rituals: Use periodic in-person gatherings, virtual social events, and onboarding practices to preserve cohesion.
• Invest in digital capability: Provide targeted training, appoint digital champions, and standardize tool use to reduce uneven competencies.
• Protect well-being and boundaries: Support work–life balance through clear working hours, digital downtime, and wellness resources.
• Move from improvisation to light formalization: Introduce basic HR frameworks for recognition, feedback, and well-being policies.
• Policy-level support: Governments should expand digital training, strengthen ICT infrastructure, and provide SME-tailored guidance.

Social Implications

The findings carry wider social relevance:

• Digital inclusion: Uneven digital skills risk excluding employees and reinforcing inequalities in access to decent work.
• Gender and caregiving: Blurred boundaries disproportionately affect women and caregivers, underscoring the need for gender-sensitive SME policies.
• Employee well-being as a societal concern: Stress and burnout have health and societal costs, making well-being support socially significant.
• Cultural continuity and cohesion: SMEs often act as community-like workplaces; erosion of rituals risks weakening trust and belonging.
• Shaping the future of work: As major employers, SMEs’ approaches to hybrid work will shape labour market norms in Bangladesh and similar economies.

Conclusion

This study explored how Bangladeshi SMEs adapted to remote and hybrid work, focusing on cultural and relational dynamics. Six themes were identified: communication breakdowns, leadership visibility gaps, fragile cultural continuity, uneven digital skills, challenges in engagement and well-being, and reliance on ad-hoc HR practices.

The findings reveal that while SMEs displayed resilience and creativity, their dependence on informal practices made adaptation fragile. Informal communication norms became liabilities without proximity, leadership visibility required deliberate design, and cultural rituals were difficult to sustain virtually. Employees experienced blurred boundaries and stress, while HR responses often lacked sustainability.

The study contributes in three ways: extending remote work research to SMEs in an emerging economy; conceptualizing symbolic presence as a form of leadership visibility; and reframing SME cultural adaptation as preservation rather than reinvention. Practically, it highlights the value of communication protocols, visibility rituals, digital training, and minimal HR frameworks. Policymakers can support SMEs through infrastructure, training, and targeted guidance.

Limitations include the small qualitative sample and reliance on self-reports, though triangulation mitigated bias. Future research could use comparative or longitudinal designs, examine sectoral variation, and analyze the role of digital maturity in SME employee relations.

Overall, the findings underscore that the future of remote and hybrid work in SMEs will depend less on technology adoption alone and more on the cultural, relational, and human systems that sustain trust, engagement, and well-being.

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