Workplace

Gao, Low, and Gong set out to learn how working in an activity-based workplace (ABW) influences employees’ psychological attachment to their physical workplaces. The group report that “Surveys are conducted with employees of the bank . . . who experienced the transition from the conventional open-plan office with designated seats to an ABW. . . . The results showed that there was a positive sense of belongingness amongst employees working in the ABW space . . . and an increased sense of belongingness compared with the previous conventional open-plan office.

Lindeberg and teammates probed how transitioning to activity-based workplaces influences professional performance.  They learned via a survey distributed in larger Finnish cities that “In the ABW environment, a change in the physical work environment has a stronger relationship with the development of organizational productivity and a change in the social work environment has a stronger relationship with the development of organizational well-being than a change in the other work environment dimensions.”

Research indicates that co-working spaces may not support new businesses’ creativity long term.  Haefliger and Yacoub determined (via a study published in Organization) that “Co-working spaces can limit the creativity and innovation of new businesses. . . . These shared spaces . . . may offer initial opportunities to collaborate but, before long, they ultimately inhibit the emergence of collaborative practices. . . .

Franssila and Kirjonen studied links between activity-based working and user performance.  They found that “Most of the facets of self-assessed productivity and all of the well-being facets did not change because of the adoption of ABW. ABW change had a positive impact on group work effectiveness but negative effect on perceptions of the facilities as conducive for efficient working.

Research at the University of California, Berkeley’s Center for the Built Environment (CBE)  indicates that there may be more flexibility in setting workplace temperatures than previously thought. 

Loder and Stoner review studies related to nature (plants, nature views, etc.) in work environments.  They share, for example, that “Research has shown that contact with nature