Predictors of Preference for the Activity-based Flexible Office

Rolfö, Linda; Jahncke, Helena; Järvholm, Lisbeth Slunga; Öhrn, Maria; Babapour, Maral

doi:10.1007/978-3-030-02053-8_83

Cited by 4 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…Social relation is used as a broad term to include communication, teamwork, collaboration and interaction. Ten studies investigated social relations in ABW environment with mixed evidence about the effects of ABW environments on these aspects; five studies reported positive outcomes (Arundell et al, 2018;Gerdenitsch et al, 2017; Lessons for the post-COVID workplace Budie et al, 2019;Divvet, 2020;Mache et al, 2020), while four studies reported negative outcomes (Beijer, 2014;Haapakangas et al, 2019;Rolfö et al, 2018b;Muhonen and Berthelsen, 2020) and two (Wohlers and Hertel, 2018;De Been et al, 2015) reported both negative and positive outcomes within the studied sample. Meaningful improvements in relationships between co-workers, collaboration opportunities, frequency of eating lunch with colleagues (Arundell et al, 2018), satisfaction with communication while doing non-concentrated work (Budie et al, 2019), increased collaboration (Mache et al, 2020), increased productivity as a function of team interaction (Divvet, 2020) and increased perceived interaction across teams for participants reporting a better perceived need-supply fit (Gerdenitsch et al, 2017) were all reported in ABW environments.…”

Section: Key Topics Of Investigationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Indoor environmental quality There are mixed research results for the IEQ of the ABW environments. Three studies (Rolfö, 2018;Rolfö et al, 2018b;Candido et al, 2020;Candido et al, 2019) Several studies reported higher satisfaction for IEQ conditions such as indoor air quality, lighting and acoustics (Candido et al, 2019), airflow, temperature, amount of light, visual comfort and outdoor view (Rolfö, 2018), satisfaction with auditory privacy (Rolfö et al, 2018b), spatial comfort, thermal comfort, noise and privacy, personal control (Ekstrand and Damman, 2016), comfort of furnishing, adjustability of the work area and space to collaborate (Candido et al, 2020). In contrast, five studies (De Been and Beijer, 2014;De Been et al, 2015;Göçer et al, 2018;Lusa et al, 2019;Budie et al, 2019) found negative outcomes related to satisfaction with IEQ in ABW environments.…”

Section: Key Topics Of Investigationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A review of research in activity-based working over the last ten years: lessons for the post-COVID workplace

Marzban

Cândido

Mackey

et al. 2022

JFM

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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to map and describe findings from research conducted in workspaces designed to support activity-based working (ABW) over the past 10 years (2010–2020) with a view of informing post-COVID workplaces of the positive and negative attributes of ABW. Design/methodology/approach Scopus was used as the search engine for this review. Papers which reported findings related to ABW and performed field study in ABW workspaces with adult occupants were included. Out of the 442 initial papers, 40 papers were included following iterative title and abstract and full text review process and consideration of inclusion and exclusion criteria. These papers were divided into three groupings (organizational, human and physical environment) based on their major focus. Positive and negative effects of ABW environments on occupants are discussed within these three topics in consideration of the implications for the post-COVID workplace. Findings Although the included studies were inclined to be either more positive (i.e. interior design) or negative (i.e. indoor environmental quality, productivity, distraction and privacy) in relation to various attributes of ABW, no single effect of ABW environments on occupants was in full agreement between the studies. The shortcomings of ABW environments are more related to how this way of working is implemented and how occupants use it, rather than the concept itself. A partial uptake of ABW leads to occupants’ dissatisfaction, lower productivity and lower well-being, while a holistic approach increases the chance of success. It is hypothesised that many currently reported negative aspects of the ABW concept might diminish overtime as ABW evolves and as new challenges arise. A continuous post-occupancy evaluation after relocation to an ABW-supportive environment can inform the organization about the changing needs and preference of the occupants; hence, the organization can tailor the ABW solution to the arising needs. The inter-connection between the three key ABW pillars (organizational, human and physical environment) is crucial to the success of this concept specifically in the context of the post-COVID-19 workplace. Originality/value This paper highlights the key shortcomings and limitations of studies produced over the past decade and identifies keys gaps in the current body of literature. It provides a new insight on how findings related to open-plan offices designed to support ABW can be categorized on the three big heading of organizational, physical and human-related aspects, and further investigates the positive and negatives outcomes reported on ABW under these headings. It also discusses how the findings arising from this literature review can inform the post-COVID workplace.

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Section: Key Topics Of Investigationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Key Topics Of Investigationmentioning

confidence: 99%

A review of research in activity-based working over the last ten years: lessons for the post-COVID workplace

Marzban

Cândido

Mackey

et al. 2022

JFM

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Studies suggest that architectural design features such as lighting, layout, furniture, acoustics, privacy and the process of relocation/modifications have an impact on how employees experience their new offices [ 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 ]. However, these case-specific features have rarely been addressed in the literature from a design perspective [ 19 , 20 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How Does Office Design Support Employees’ Health? A Case Study on the Relationships among Employees’ Perceptions of the Office Environment, Their Sense of Coherence and Office Design

Forooraghi

Miedema

Ryd

et al. 2021

IJERPH

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This study investigated the current design circumstances of an office as well as employees’ perceptions of the office environment in relation to their perceived health, drawing on sense of coherence theory (comprehensibility, manageability, and meaningfulness). Previous studies have related the physical office environment to employee health. However, most studies have focused on alleviating negative effects, while health-promoting potential, including employee sense of coherence, has been overlooked. This study adopted a mixed method case study approach, combining semi-structured interviews with employees, structured observations, and analysis of architectural drawings. The results indicated that employees’ perceptions did not always align with the ideas behind the architectural design and that employees understood the environment differently. The study also highlighted the interrelations (and contradictions) among the different components of sense of coherence. The findings imply that organizations may need to prioritize which components of coherence should be supported most by the office environment. It also suggests that case-specific design aspects should play a more central role in studying and conceptualizing healthy office design and that design solutions should be continuously modified during the use phase, while ensuring employees’ participation. The study concluded that an ‘ideal’ office environment should not be the goal. Instead, office design should provide an environment in which employees are able to cope with challenges in comprehensible, manageable and meaningful ways.

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“…However, these office types are not uncontroversial. The media has reported numerous anecdotes about negative effects that activity-based working environments might have, and scientific results on this matter are mixed (Bodin Danielsson and Bodin, 2008;De Been and Beijer, 2014;Seddigh et al, 2014;Fagerström, 2016;Jungstedt, 2016;Wilhelmsson, 2016;Backman, 2017;Babapour, 2019;Bäcklander et al, 2019;Rolfö et al, 2019;Wohlers et al, 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development and Validation of a Multi-Dimensional Measure of Activity-Based Working Behaviors

et al. 2021

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Most work on activity-based working centers on the physical environment and digital technologies enabling flexible working. While important, we believe the key components for implementing activity-based working are employee and manager behaviors. To measure the degree of enactment of activity-based work, based on workshops with experienced practitioners as well as previous literature, we have developed and validated a behavior-focused measure of activity-based working behaviors. In our initial sample (Sample 1, N = 234), three subscales were identified: task – environment crafting, workday planning, and social needs prioritization. In the replication sample (Sample 2, N = 434), this model also showed adequate fit. Moreover, task – environment crafting was related to general health and lower stress in sample 1 (multi-organization sample), but not in the single-organization sample (sample 2). Workday planning was associated with higher concentration in both samples and in the second sample with general health and work engagement; the latter was also related to social needs prioritization.

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Predictors of Preference for the Activity-based Flexible Office

Cited by 4 publications

References 11 publications

A review of research in activity-based working over the last ten years: lessons for the post-COVID workplace

A review of research in activity-based working over the last ten years: lessons for the post-COVID workplace

How Does Office Design Support Employees’ Health? A Case Study on the Relationships among Employees’ Perceptions of the Office Environment, Their Sense of Coherence and Office Design

Development and Validation of a Multi-Dimensional Measure of Activity-Based Working Behaviors

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