Exploring mobility & workplace choice in a flexible office through post-occupancy evaluation

Abstract

Developments in information and communication systems, organisational structure and the nature of work have contributed to the restructuring of work environments. In these new types of work environments, employees do not have assigned workplaces. This arrangement helps organisations to minimise rent costs and increase employee interaction and knowledge exchange through mobility. This post-occupancy evaluation (POE) study focuses on a flexible office in a Gold Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design-certified building in Istanbul. An integrated qualitative and quantitative POE technique with occupancy tracking via barcode scanning and instant surveying has been introduced. Using this unique approach, we examined the directives/drivers in workplace choice and mobility from different perspectives. The aggregated data was used to discern work-related consequences such as flexibility, workplace choice, work and indoor environment satisfaction, place attachment and identity. The results show that employees who have a conventional working culture develop a new working style: 'fixed-flexible working'. Practitioner Summary: This paper introduces a new POE approach for flexible offices based on occupancy tracking through barcode scanning to explore workplace choice and mobility. More than half (52.1%) of the participants have tended to choose the same desk every day. However, the satisfaction level of the 'mobile' employees was higher than that of the 'fixed flexible' employees.

Perceived fit in activity-based work environments and its impact on satisfaction and performance

“…However, an ABW environment seems to hamper workers' concentration and privacy (Engelen et al, 2018). Other studies have shown that satisfaction with ABW environments may differ strongly between and within organizations (Brunia, De Been, & Van der Voordt, 2016;Göçer, Göçer, Karahan, & Oygür, 2018;Hoendervanger, Ernst, Albers, Van Yperen, & Mobach, 2018;Leesman, 2017). In a number of field studies, satisfaction was below expectations, with concentration, privacy, and the loss of an assigned workstation listed as major self-reported issues (Babapour, 2019;Bodin Danielsson & Bodin, 2009;De Been & Beijer, 2014;Van der Voordt, 2004).…”

Differences in Occupants’ Satisfaction and Perceived Productivity in High- and Low-Performance Offices

“…• Visual comfort, access to daylight, and view [19][20][21]; • Noise distraction, lack of privacy, and communication [22][23][24][25][26][27]; • Office design [28][29][30][31][32][33].…”

“…The other dimension that has been studied was "ventilation rate" (i.e., supply of outdoor air) due to its indirect influence on workers' performance, caused by the impact of ventilation on thermal comfort, air quality, and concentration of indoor generated pollutants [40,41]. In addition, another key finding in fully air-conditioned open-plan offices is that occupants prefer to have a higher-degree of control over their immediate surroundings, including but not limited to thermostats, shading devices, and operable windows [27]. Interpersonal differences when it comes to occupants' thermal preferences have also been extensively documented [16,17].…”

Ergonomics Applied on Drilling Centers in the Brazilian Oil Industry

“…Management often focuses on productivity, quality and economic profits, while work environment issues sometimes tend to be neglected. what is prioritized in terms of importance for increasing operational efficiency or issues related to safety in operations [17]. This is in contrast to several studies showing the relation between ergonomics, quality and productivity [12,13,14,42].…”