Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine the use of IoT technology (RFID technology, sensor networks, wearable devices and other smart items) in office settings and its respective impact on the optimization of employees’ productivity and workspace effectiveness. Design/methodology/approach The paper reviews 41 relevant publications reporting IoT use in office settings to identify how this technology has been applied in office settings and what topics are mostly addressed in the literature; how IoT technology improves employees’ productivity; and what the benefits and risks associated with IoT use in the workplace environment are. Findings Two main areas of application of IoT technology in the workplace environment were identified. The first one concerns the influence of the physical characteristics of workplaces on aspects related to workspace effectiveness. The second one is employee-centered and concerns the use of IoT data to identify employees’ social behavior, physiological data and emotional estates associated with productivity. IoT technology provides real-time data with speedy information retrieval. However, its deployment in office settings is not exempt from risks. Employee workplace surveillance, re-individualization of the IoT data and employee refusal of IoT technology in office settings are the main risks associated with this technology. Originality/value This literature review categorizes IoT application in office settings according to two perspectives and highlights employees' attitudes, user-experience of IoT technology and the risks associated with this technology. These results will help researchers and workplace managers interested in the deployment of this technology in the workplace environment.

Purpose The purpose of this study is to evaluate how the relationship between employees’ workspace satisfaction and their respective perceptions of workspace support to labour productivity interacts with two emotional experiences as follows: workspace attachment and job stress. Design/methodology/approach Web-based surveys conducted before and after a company’s short-distance relocation. Study 1 concerned 66 employees and was conducted a few weeks before the relocation. Study 2 concerned 84 employees and was conducted six months after the relocation. Ordinary least squares regression, moderation and mediation analysis were performed. Findings After the relocation, the employees experienced greater job stress, less workspace satisfaction, and they felt less attached to their workspaces. However, the evaluations of workspace support to labour productivity did not change. Contrary to expectations, employees’ workspace satisfaction is not related to their evaluation of this workspace as supporting labour productivity. Instead, this relationship is moderated by job stress. The hypothesis that workspace attachment mediates the relationship between workspace satisfaction and respective evaluation of this workspace as supporting labour productivity was not verified. Practical implications Corporate real estate managers and any manager leading short-distance relocation projects should consider incorporating change management in the projects to maintain employees’ positive attitudes and emotional bonds with their workspace. Originality/value This research improves the knowledge of how employees perceive the workspace as supporting their work duties.

Purpose This paper aims to draw on the field of real estate management to explore the cost of flex-offices as well as the corporate discourse toward it and to identify the possible gap between real estate directors' discourse and the real cost of flex-offices. Design/methodology/approach This paper follows the grounded theory approach. Three studies were conducted: 16 semi-structured interviews with real estate actors, categorization of internal corporate documents and a thorough content analysis of the press discourse. Findings There is a positive vision as well as a very optimistic outlook on the flex-office on the part of real estate actors and the press. This research shows that reality does not reflect the discourse as 12 hidden costs identified are not currently factored into costs when setting up a flex-office, which can distort the discourse and efficiency. It will be interesting to measure those hidden costs in future research so as to have an objective discourse and a better cost estimate when deploying this kind of workspace. Originality/value Contradict the widespread discourse about flex-offices by highlighting the hidden costs that should be taken into consideration to allow managers to make accurate estimates. Although these hidden costs may seem ancillary at first sight, they might have an impact on efficiency.