Migliore’s dissertation focuses on factors influencing where academics choose to work. She reports that “Work autonomy, low degree of formalization, and unconventional organizational structure characterize academic work. These features make academics free to choose their work location, differently from other knowledge workers, whose work location choices are more constrained. . . . Mostly, work-related factors (i.e., discipline) influence location choices. However, workspace-related factors (i.e., on-campus workspace spatial quality, the need for a laboratory and commuting time) are crucial factors for work location decisions. Finally, private life-related factors (i.e., living with school children or a partner) and demographic factors (i.e., gender) push academics in increasing work-from-home. . . . working from the university during the Covid-19 pandemic increases academic productivity more than any other location choice, while working from home negatively influences productivity. Noteworthy, the relation between each location choice and academic productivity strongly depends on the characteristics of the workspace at home and on-campus as well as on individual traits such as gender.”
Alessandra Migliore. 2023. “In Search of an Alternative Workspace: Disclosing Academics’ Spatial Practices and Productivity Within and Beyond the Campus.” Doctoral Dissertation, Politecnico Milano, https://www.politesi.polimi.it/handle/10589/194929