The Physical Environment of the Office: Contemporary and Emerging Issues

Davis, Matthew C.; Leach, Daniel; Clegg, Chris W.

doi:10.1002/9781119992592.ch6

Cited by 93 publications

(93 citation statements)

References 121 publications

(259 reference statements)

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“…Yet this domain can be seen as a quintessentially socio-technical challenge. The imbalance of research and practice, currently skewed heavily towards the technical and infrastructural elements of the system, highlights the particular need for a socio-technical way of thinking (Davis, Leach, & Clegg, 2011). This is evident from failures of some technical 'solutions'.…”

Section: Environmental Sustainability In the Workplacementioning

confidence: 99%

“…One benefit is that socio-technical thinking can help map existing organizational efforts to improve environmental sustainability (Davis et al, 2011). For example, in Figure 4 we identify the approaches and techniques implemented to aid environmental sustainability at the UK plant of a major manufacturing company.…”

Section: Environmental Sustainability In the Workplacementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Taking on such challenges requires a reappraisal of what we, as a community, hold to be complex systems. In so doing we have highlighted the need for the role of technology within existing environmental initiatives to be balanced with consideration of the wider human and organizational aspects of the system (Davis et al, 2011).…”

Section: Environmental Sustainability In the Workplacementioning

confidence: 99%

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Advancing socio-technical systems thinking: A call for bravery

Davis¹,

Challenger²,

et al. 2014

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Socio-technical systems thinking has predominantly been applied to the domains of new technology and work design over the past 60 years. Whilst it has made an impact, we argue that we need to be braver, encouraging the approach to evolve and extend its reach. In particular, we need to: extend our conceptualization of what constitutes a system; apply our thinking to a much wider range of complex problems and global challenges; and engage in more predictive work. To illustrate our agenda in novel domains, we provide examples of socio-technical perspectives on the management of crowd events and environmental sustainability. We also outline a research and development agenda to take the area forward. Highlights A wider conceptualization of what constitutes a system, e.g., crowd events.  A wider range of applications, to include global challenges, e.g., sustainability.  Framework for more predictive analysis, e.g., to identify and mitigate risks.  Retrospective case studies to generate lessons for use predictively.  Research and development agenda to advance socio-technical practice. KeywordsSystems; Crowds; Sustainability; Prediction 3 IntroductionSocio-technical systems theory has enjoyed around 60 years of development and application internationally by both researchers and practitioners (e.g., Baxter & Sommerville, 2011; Carayon, 2006;Cherns, 1976Cherns, , 1987Clegg, 2000;Eason, 1988Eason, , 2007 Mumford, 1983Mumford, , 2006Pasmore & King, 1978;Trist & Bamforth, 1951;van Eijnatten, 1997;Waterson, 2005). The over-arching philosophy, embracing the joint design and optimization of organizational systems (incorporating both social and technical elements), has maintained its practical relevance and has seen increasing recognition and acceptance by audiences outside the social sciences (Eason, 2008). Such successes can be attributed, in part, to the continuing evolution of sociotechnical systems thinking and practice.In this paper, we argue that people engaged in socio-technical thinking need to extend their conceptualizations of 'systems', apply the core ideas to new domains reaching beyond the traditional focus on new technologies, and, at the same time, become involved in predictive work. The underlying call is to be braver in all three respects.To these ends, we first reflect upon the progress of socio-technical systems thinking to-date and the impact it has achieved. We then make the case for extending socio-technical systems theory to new domains. To do this, we describe a framework for socio-technical analyzis and design which we use to provide two illustrative examples of its application in novel settings. In each of the examples we identify the potential and importance of undertaking predictive work. We then outline a research and development agenda that will help take the domain forward. We argue that the application of socio-technical thinking to new areas may help address significant contemporary challenges, thereby extending our social impact and reach, and, at the same time, offering opportunit...

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Section: Environmental Sustainability In the Workplacementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Environmental Sustainability In the Workplacementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Environmental Sustainability In the Workplacementioning

confidence: 99%

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Advancing socio-technical systems thinking: A call for bravery

Davis¹,

Challenger²,

et al. 2014

Self Cite

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“…Compared to private offices, the amount of environmental distraction in open-plan offices are higher and more such as excessively noise, lack of privacy, presence of others, increased workloads, social setting problems and ambient conditions (Baldry and Barnes, 2012;Duval et al, 2002;Jahncke et al, 2011;Rashid et al, 2009;Banbury and Berry, 2005;Roelofsen, 2008). These problems and distractions are often suggested to reduce the end-users' satisfaction (both environmental and job satisfaction) (O'Neill, 2008;Lee and Brand, 2005), enhance physiological stress (Rasila and Rothe, 2012;Lee and Brand, 2010), reduce outcome including productivity and creativity (Davis et al, 2011;Elsbach and Pratt, 2007;Hua, 2007;Sundstrom et al, 1982;Davis, 1984;Carnevale, 1992;Baldry and Barnes, 2012;Lee and Brand, 2010;Miller, 2005) and increasing desire to work in private rooms (Lee and Brand, 2005).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Individual Control over the Physical Work Environment to Affect Creativity

Samani¹,

Rasid²,

Sofian³

2015

Industrial Engineering and Management Systems

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The purpose of this paper is to provide a review of the background information regarding to the impact of personal control over the physical work environment on satisfaction with work environment and creativity at work. Today creativity has a significant and special place in business especially in innovative organizations which need creative people to generate new, and useful ideas for produce new products, services, work methods, systems etc. Moreover the design and appearance of workspace and individual ability to control the ambient conditions of the workplace have significant effect on their behavior, satisfaction and overall outcome including creativity. So the result of this study will contribute towards enhancing the understanding of the effect of office design to enhance employees' creativity.

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“…Although these macro-level changes are sometimes successful (e.g., Andersson, Shivarajan, & Blau, 2005) their effects are underwhelming (see Young et al, in press). This is likely because their effectiveness largely depends on whether or not employees are willing to change their behavior in line with these organizational-wide systems (Davis, Leach, & Clegg, 2011) and unfortunately, organizational procedures aimed at increasing environmental sustainability are not always followed by employees (Davis & Challenger, 2012, 2015. This lack of employee engagement in environmentally sustainable behaviors could be due to several factors, such as a mismatch with personal values or beliefs (e.g., Stern, 2000), low priority of sustainability within the organization leading to conflicting goals (Unsworth, Dmitrieva, & Adriasola, 2013), or cynicism due to a perceived mismatch between what the organization "says" and what it "does" with regards to sustainability (Aguinis & Glavas, 2013).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Increasing pro-environmental behaviors by increasing self-concordance: Testing an intervention.

Unsworth

McNeill

2017

Journal of Applied Psychology

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Concordance: Testing an InterventionGlobally, there is a clear need to change our behavior to mitigate climate change. Many people, however, will not find the need for mitigation important enough to make their behavior more environmentally sustainable. Three studies supported the hypothesis that it is possible to overcome this issue by connecting these behaviors to goals that are important to people, even if such goals are unrelated to climate change or the environment in general.Study 1 (N = 305 working adults) showed that stronger self-concordance of behavior related to energy sustainability was related to a greater chance of signing a petition for increasing renewable energy sources. Next, two experimental studies (Study 2: N = 412 working and non-working adults, and Study 3: N = 300 working adults) showed that increasing selfconcordance of environmentally sustainable behaviors by asking people to cognitively connect either sustainable energy use (Study 2) or commuting behaviors (Study 3) to their personal goals increased intentions to engage in these behaviors compared to a control condition (Study 2 and Study 3) and compared to persuasion attempts based on climate change mitigation (Study 3). These findings occurred even after controlling for political orientation and environmental concerns. This research has significant practical implications for workplaces, particularly for those in which employees or managers place a low priority on environmental and climate change considerations.

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The Physical Environment of the Office: Contemporary and Emerging Issues

Cited by 93 publications

References 121 publications

Advancing socio-technical systems thinking: A call for bravery

Advancing socio-technical systems thinking: A call for bravery

Individual Control over the Physical Work Environment to Affect Creativity

Increasing pro-environmental behaviors by increasing self-concordance: Testing an intervention.

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