Indicators of Permanence in Workspace Features: Perceived Importance and Relationship to Workspace Satisfaction

Ferguson, Sherry Devereaux; Horan, Hilary; Ferguson, Alexandra Maureen

doi:10.22230/cjc.1997v22n1a976

Cited by 8 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…Importance of workspace qualities was measured using an adapted version of Ferguson et al ’s (1997) scale, consisting of 11 items. A sample item is “In your office space, how important is protection from outside noise and conversation?” Participants responded to each item using a seven-point scale (1=“Not very important” to 7=“Very important”).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

STEM faculty response to proposed workspace changes

Wilhoit

Gettings

Malik

et al. 2016

JOCM

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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to use an affordance approach to understand how university faculty use and value their workspace and respond to proposed spatial changes. Design/methodology/approach A mixed method survey was given to faculty in the college of engineering at a large public American university. Data were analyzed using an affordance lens. Findings The analysis indicates that the majority of engineering faculty highly value private offices and appears resistant to non-traditional workspace arrangements. Research limitations/implications The authors performed the analysis with a relatively small sample (n=46). Practical implications University administrators need to communicate with faculty and take their opinions on spatial changes seriously. Changes to space may affect STEM faculty retention. Social implications This paper could affect the quality of work life for university faculty. Originality/value The paper provide needed research on how faculty use and value their workspace while discussing the implications of alternative workspaces within the academy. Theoretically, the authors contribute to ongoing research on relationship between material and social aspects of organizational spaces.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

STEM faculty response to proposed workspace changes

Wilhoit

Gettings

Malik

et al. 2016

JOCM

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…It has also been suggested that in any situational context, individuals attempt to organize their physical environment so that it maximizes their freedom of choice. In support of these suggestions, several studies have found that control over the work environment, in terms of ability to adjust the furniture, equipment, cooling and heating system, and decoration, moderates employees' reactions to changes in the work environment and facilitates their coping with such changes (Callan, 1993;Ferguson et al, 1997;O'Neill, 1994;Spreckelmeyer, 1993;Wollman et al, 1994).…”

Section: Threats To Self-determinationmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…Work environments for instance not only support the work activities of the people who use them but also communicate information symbolically (Becker, 1981;Steele, 1973). In other words, they convey messages to-and about-their occupants (Ferguson, Horan, & Ferguson, 1997).…”

Section: The Workplace and The Self-concept: The Construct Of A Place Identitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Many of these symbolic meanings are related to individual and group identity. Some researchers (e.g., Ferguson et al, 1997;Proshansky, Fabian, & Kaminoff, 1983) argue that people identify psychologically with places and that the place identity becomes an integral part of their self-concepts. According to these authors, the development and maintenance of an identity in the individual does not depend entirely on how others react to his or her behaviors, skills, and achievements.…”

Section: The Workplace and The Self-concept: The Construct Of A Place Identitymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Organizational Change and Self-Concept Threats

Eilam

Shamir

2005

The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science

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The article presents a self-concept-based theoretical perspective for analyzing and interpreting employees’ reactions to organizational change. The authors suggest that change will be supported to the extent that it is concordant with organizational members’ self-concepts. Change will be experienced as stressful and be resisted to the extent that it poses threats to employees’ self-concepts, in particular to their senses of self-determination, self-distinctiveness, self-enhancement, and self-continuity. The authors demonstrate the usefulness of this perspective using quantitative and qualitative data from a case study of employees’ reactions to office relocation. The authors summarize their findings in terms of testable propositions, suggest directions for further research, and offer some practical implications of the suggested perspective.

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“…This study suggests a relationship between the status associated with an enclosed office and an overall workspace indicator that included pride. Ferguson [19] found a statistically significant correlation between indicators of material permanence and workplace pride. Occupants saw enclosed offices as more permanent than cubicles; thus workers in enclosed offices exhibited higher levels of workplace pride than their counterparts in cubicles.…”

Section: Architectural Enclosure's Physical and Symbolic Attributesmentioning

confidence: 97%

Architectural enclosure's effect on office worker performance: A comparison of the physical and symbolic attributes of workspace dividers

Goins

Jellema

Zhang

2010

Building and Environment

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Most studies of offices examine their physical or symbolic attributes independently. Yet office components can contain both attributes. To minimize unintended but potentially negative effects on occupants, researchers must consider both the physical and symbolic attributes of components when making recommendations about their deployment. This study compares the effects of the physical and symbolic attributes of architectural enclosure on worker performance using a survey database that contains workers' ratings of their office components. The amount of enclosure is determined by the height of the occupant's workspace divider, with taller dividers offering more enclosure. Divider height is positively associated with ratings of the two physical attributes considered: speech privacy and visual privacy. Divider height, however, does not affect occupants' ratings of a home-like atmosphere or workplace pride, the symbolic attributes considered. Yet, the occupants indicate that the two symbolic attributes are more important than the two physical attributes in improving their work performance. This might lead to office design choices. An office designed to maximize worker performance might do so by maximizing its symbolic impact. This analysis suggests that an office's symbolic impact may not always be increased by including more offices with tall dividers like enclosed, private offices.

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Indicators of Permanence in Workspace Features: Perceived Importance and Relationship to Workspace Satisfaction

Cited by 8 publications

References 36 publications

STEM faculty response to proposed workspace changes

STEM faculty response to proposed workspace changes

Organizational Change and Self-Concept Threats

Architectural enclosure's effect on office worker performance: A comparison of the physical and symbolic attributes of workspace dividers

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