Thinking activity-based work environment throughout situated acceptance

Abstract

Purpose This paper aims to focus on activity-based workplaces, which offer a diversity of typologies and configurations which, instead of being attributed to users, are shared according to the needs of their activities. Indeed, this paper questions the way these activity-based workplaces configure the ways in which individuals and collectives carry out their activity. Design/methodology/approach To do so, this paper established a two-phase methodology. Three days of observation amid three different units evolving in activity-based workplaces have helped us to identify the uses that emerged from these spatial typologies. Then, a set of two interviews with eight participants have been conducted based on the four dimensions of the situated acceptance model (Bobillier Chaumon, 2013) and on picture elicitation. Findings The results allow us to understand how activity-based workspaces can be considered as artefacts for the activity that needs to be appropriated to allow the worker to realise his activity. Research limitations/implications The results provide an overview of the social and psychological consequences of activity-based workspaces on workers, their work collective and their activity. Thus, the conclusions can be mobilised in activity-based real estate projects, for example, during the design stage. Originality/value This research conducted with a situated approach based upon the study of the development of the activity proposes a change from the usual managerial approach about these activity-based workplaces, which prescribe an ideal way of working within the workplace.

New Ways of Working in Academia: Maneuvering in and with Ambiguity in Workspace Design Processes

“…Consulting companies also contributed to disseminate the label through events, websites, and interventions within firms (De Leede, 2017). NWoW generally refers to a set of supposedly innovative transformations in the workplace that commonly include -but are not limited to -(1) open, non-attributed, and activity-based workspaces, (2) flexible work practices supported by new communication technologies, and (3) a managerial culture promoting employees' autonomy, responsibility, and empowerment (Bijl, 2011;De Leede, 2017;Demerouti et al, 2014;Jemine et al, 2020b;Lai et al, 2021). As such, NWoW has been frequently portrayed by the '3B' triptych that encompasses Bricks (modern work environments), Bytes (innovative technologies), and Behaviors (cultural and managerial changes) (Baane et al, 2010;Kingma, 2019;Kok, 2016).…”

“…A second research assumption follows, which is that NWoW is first and foremost a business trend summoned in various firms to support projects of organizational change (Jemine et al, 2020a). Why and how this summoning occurs and unfolds is a question that has received little attention so far, as many existing studies of NWoW consist of ex post assessments of finished NWoW workspaces (e.g., Brunia et al, 2016;Engelen et al, 2019;Gerards et al, 2018;Lai et al, 2021) that do barely question the strategic motives underlying NWoW adoption or the process through which it is implemented. By contrast, we assume, in this paper, that NWoW translates into change projects that open up areas for negotiation (Jemine et al, 2020b).…”

“…n the last decade, several private firms and public institutions committed to projects of 'New Ways of Working' (NWoW), disrupting the conventional spatial settings of their workspaces by promoting open plans and shared workstations over closed offices and assigned desks, adopting innovative technologies, and promoting cultural changes (Demerouti et al, 2014;Jemine et al, 2021;Kingma, 2019). These changes in physical working environments have resulted in new ways of experiencing work that have been extensively documented by researchers through post-occupancy studies (e.g., Engelen et al, 2019;Lai et al, 2021). However, to this day, the processes through which NWoW projects are implemented in organizational contexts have remained poorly understood (Jemine, 2021).…”

How can facilities management benefit from offices becoming more user-centred?

“…However, the concept of making users’ lives easier in the building has not been studied sufficiently. Modern activity-based offices are complex systems where everyone must know the rules of using the space, for example, if an area is for quiet work or collaboration (Lai et al , 2021). Moreover, hot desks create additional challenges as people might not know which desks are available (Cooper et al , 2017).…”