Purpose This paper aims to explore the impact of workplaces, which support concentration and communication, and self-management practices on individual and team productivity. The underlying hypothesis is that the impact of these variables on the two levels of productivity (individual and team) and the two dimensions of productivity (quantity and quality) may be different. Design/methodology/approach The paper is based on survey data from 998 Finnish knowledge workers. Factor analysis was used to test the dimensions of the conceptual model. Insights into the impact of workplaces for concentration and communications and self-management practices on productivity were obtained by multiple-regression analyses. Findings The findings show that self-management practices have a larger impact on the quality and quantity of individual output and the quantity of team output than workplaces for communication and concentration. Improving self-management skills is key to increase all productivity dimensions and in particular the quality of the output. Practical implications This paper contributes to a better understanding of the impact of workplace characteristics and self-management practices on different levels and dimensions of productivity. It offers valuable lessons for managers, as they are able to recognize how productivity can be approached from several perspectives. Different dimensions can be enhanced using different workplace settings. For example, the quantitative output of employees can be increased by adding more space for concentration, while quantitative team productivity can be increased by providing appropriate space for collaboration. An important means to enhance a higher quality of the output is to improve self-management skills. The findings also suggest that collaboration between different disciplines – corporate management, corporate real estate management, human resource management and IT – is needed to optimize individual and team productivity. Originality/value This paper explores work environment experiences of Finnish office workers and connects both workplace appraisal and work practices to perceived productivity support, on individual level and team level. It also adds insights into the different impacts on quantity and quality.
Purpose-New Ways of Working (NewWoW) refers to a novel approach for improving the performance of knowledge work. The idea is to seek innovative solutions concerning facilities, information technology tools and work practices in order to be able to "work smarter, not harder". In order to develop work practices towards the NewWoW mode there is a need for an analytical management tool that would help assess the status of the organization's current work practices and demonstrate the impacts of development initiatives. This paper introduces such a tool. Design/methodology/approach-Constructive research approach was chosen to guide the development of the SmartWoW tool. The tool was designed on the basis of previous knowledge work performance literature as well as on interviews in two knowledge-intensive organizations. The usefulness of the tool was verified by applying it in four organizations. Findings-SmartWoW is a compact questionnaire tool for analyzing and measuring knowledge work at the individual level. The questionnaire consists of four areas: work environment, personal work practices, well-being at work and productivity. As SmartWoW is a standardized tool its results are comparable between organizations. Research limitations/implications-SmartWoW was designed a pragmatic managerial tool. It is considered possible that it can be valuable as a research instrument as well but the current limited amount of collected data does not yet facilitate determining its usefulness from that perspective. Originality/value-This paper makes a contribution to the existing literature on knowledge work measurement and management by introducing an analytical tool which takes into account the NewWoW perspective.
If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/ authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. AbstractPurpose -The potential of information and communication technology (ICT) in improving knowledge work productivity is well-documented in the existing literature. However, prior research fails to provide means for analyzing whether the potential can be realized in a specific organizational context. Thus, this paper aims to focus on the context-specific analysis of the impacts of ICT services on knowledge work.Design/methodology/approach -This paper uses a literature review and a case study conducted in a medium-sized European teleoperator company. The case study examines the measurement process for capturing the knowledge work productivity impacts produced by a new ICT service used by the company.Findings -ICT can be used to eliminate non-value-adding tasks or to make them more efficient. ICT can also improve employee welfare, for example, through transforming the content of work by deleting unimportant activities. The empirical study showed that, contrary to the view presented in the prior literature, it does not seem that difficult to measure the impacts of ICT on knowledge work productivity. A key point in the measurement is identification of case-specific impact factors by examining the characteristics of the ICT service and the organisational setting. Practical implications -The results of the paper will be useful for managers studying the impacts of ICT investments in their organizations.Originality/value -This paper contributes to the prior literature on ICT and knowledge work productivity by explaining how the impacts of ICT can be analysed in a given empirical context. The specific novelty value of the study lies in the new knowledge concerning the identification of the impact factors.Information and communication technology (ICT) provides potential means for improving knowledge work productivity, for example, through helping knowledge workers perform certain routine (i.e. non-value-adding) tasks faster and through supporting knowledge sharing among professionals (Ahuja and Shankar, 2009;Norton, 1995;Rodríguez Casal et al., 2005;Sigala, 2003). Thus, companies are eager to purchase various ICT services in order to improve the productivity of their knowledge workers.
Purpose-Measuring productivity in changing environment is a challenging task for most of the organizations. However, it is very important for managers to measure how the changes in work environment impact on knowledge work productivity. SmartWoW is proving to be a useful tool for this type of productivity measurement, and organizations are using it to make changes in the work environment. As organisations become more interested in its uses, studies with more accurate results are needed. The purpose of this paper is to validate and improve the use of the SmartWoW tool. Method-The SmartWoW tool was used in nine organizations, which formulate the research data. Convergent validity, divergent validity and reliability are tested with SPSS and AMOS. Both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses are applied. Findings-The SmartWoW tool structure was found to be valid. It follows the structure described in previous literature, with slight changes in two dimensions. Four variables were added to increase tool consistency, and their wording was harmonized. Practical implications-SmartWoW is useful for evaluating an organization's current work environment and practices, as well as for measuring the effects of work environment changes. This study's results also suggest SmartWoW would be useful for research by, for example, evaluating how dimensions affect each other. Originality-This study provides a better understanding of the unique features and uses of SmartWoW. The findings not only validate through statistical analysis the tool's structure, but also improve it and offer a broader scope of its uses.
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