Pia Sirola, Annu Haapakangas, Marjaana Lahtinen and Virpi Ruohomäki
The purpose of this case study is to investigate how the personnel in an organization experienced the process of change when moving from private offices to an activity-based…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this case study is to investigate how the personnel in an organization experienced the process of change when moving from private offices to an activity-based office (ABO) and how their perceptions of change were associated with changes in their satisfaction with the work environment a year after relocation.
Design/methodology/approach
A comparative pre-post study design and mixed methods were used. Survey data was obtained from 154 employees before the relocation and 146 after the relocation. The data on the 105 employees who responded to both surveys were statistically analyzed. Representatives of different units were interviewed (n = 17) and documentary material was analyzed as complementary material.
Findings
The personnel’s criticisms concerned the reasons for the change, their opportunities to influence the office design and the extent to which their views were taken into account. Environmental satisfaction decreased after moving to the ABO. The personnel’s ratings of the workplace change process before the relocation were associated with the later change in environmental satisfaction. Based on logistic regression, the degree of agreement with management’s reasons for the change was the strongest predictor of the change in environmental satisfaction.
Practical implications
Organizations that move from private offices to an ABO should invest in high-quality change management and simultaneously develop both work and facilities. Special attention should be paid to clarifying the rationale for the change to the employees and to providing them with opportunities to influence during the change. Organizations should continue to monitor user experiences and evaluate the effects of the change after the office redesign and should take corrective action as needed.
Originality/value
This empirical case study is unique as it combined qualitative and quantitative methods and investigated the process of relocation and its outcomes in a one-year follow-up. This approach captured the importance of managing change and assessing the long-term effects of office redesign when moving from private offices to an ABO.
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Annu Haapakangas, Suvi Hirvonen, Jaakko Airaksinen, Elina Tulenheimo-Eklund and Virpi Ruohomäki
The increase in teleworking has highlighted the role of office design in hybrid work. The purpose of this study is to examine employees’ workplace experiences as push and pull…
Abstract
Purpose
The increase in teleworking has highlighted the role of office design in hybrid work. The purpose of this study is to examine employees’ workplace experiences as push and pull factors for working on-site. The study investigated which aspects of perceived office conditions are associated with employees’ preference to increase or decrease teleworking, taking into account other potential predictors of these preferences (i.e. demographic factors, psychosocial factors, employee well-being and work ability).
Design/methodology/approach
A cross-sectional survey was conducted in four Finnish workplaces in autumn 2022 (n = 923). The offices mostly represented a modern activity-based design. The authors analysed the data using multinomial regression, and adjusted for gender, age and education.
Findings
The workplace experiences were mainly a push factor as, for example, insufficient workspaces for quiet work and spontaneous collaboration and the amount of work and storage space were associated with preferences to increase telework. Only task privacy was both a push and pull factor: better privacy was associated with a preference to decrease telework, and vice versa. The current amount of telework was related to telework preferences, whereas psychosocial factors, employee well-being and work ability were not.
Practical implications
Ensuring satisfactory task privacy and providing adequate workspaces for work requiring concentration appear particularly important in making the office more attractive in hybrid work. Office design should be considered an integral component of organizational models of hybrid work.
Originality/value
The study bridges research on telework and office design. It provides novel evidence on the role of the office in post-pandemic workplaces.
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Jori Reijula and Virpi Ruohomäki
This study assessed employees’ perceptions of their hospital work environment, its quality and functionality, as well as their satisfaction and well-being both before and after…
Abstract
Purpose
This study assessed employees’ perceptions of their hospital work environment, its quality and functionality, as well as their satisfaction and well-being both before and after relocation within the hospital campus.
Design/methodology/approach
The study was carried out in a Finnish University Hospital. Employees from the anesthesia, orthopedics and physiatrics department took part in the study. The data were collected from the employees with online questionnaires before and after the relocation. The statistical differences between the questionnaire variables were analyzed using the Chi-square test.
Findings
Remarkable improvements in the quality of the new workplace included ability to adjust temperature, ventilation and furniture, ability to see out of windows, accessibility, number of meeting rooms, places to discuss confidential matters, quality of interior design, improved work satisfaction and desire to implement Lean. Significant deteriorations after relocation included unsettled work environment, impaired quality of cooperation and decreased interaction between employees.
Originality/value
This study discovered several improvements in the new facilities that had a visible effect on the assessed employee satisfaction and well-being parameters. The paper contains new, significant information that is relevant to the hospital facilities management and provides insight about the pros and cons of relocation and wherein their focus should be placed.
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Leena Aalto, Pia Sirola, Tiina Kalliomäki-Levanto, Marjaana Lahtinen, Virpi Ruohomäki, Heidi Salonen and Kari Reijula
The challenges arising from the reform of the social and healthcare sector call for efficient, effective and novel processes in both public and private health and medical care…
Abstract
Purpose
The challenges arising from the reform of the social and healthcare sector call for efficient, effective and novel processes in both public and private health and medical care. Facilities need to be designed to suit the new processes and to offer usable workspaces at different levels of healthcare services. Along with traditional construction, modular facility innovations could be one solution to these pressures. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
This case study analyzed the different usability characteristics of the work environment in modular and non-modular healthcare facilities (HCFs). The qualitative research method was based on semi-structured interviews of employees and observations of the case buildings.
Findings
According to the results, the usability characteristics were divided into four main categories: functionality, healthiness, safety/security and comfort. The main differences between the modular and non-modular facilities appeared to be room size, soundproofing, safety issues and the utilization of colors and artwork, which were all perceived as better realized in the non-modular facilities. The staff highlighted functionality as the most important characteristic in their work environment. They even considered functionality as a feature of a comfortable work environment.
Originality/value
This paper presents new knowledge and a detailed description of the opinions and experiences of healthcare professionals concerning a user-centric, usable environment in the context of modular and non-modular HCFs.
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Petra M. Bosch‐Sijtsema, Virpi Ruohomäki and Matti Vartiainen
Knowledge work (KW) is a well‐researched topic. However, KW is difficult to measure and little consensus has been reached on elements that affect knowledge work productivity on a…
Abstract
Purpose
Knowledge work (KW) is a well‐researched topic. However, KW is difficult to measure and little consensus has been reached on elements that affect knowledge work productivity on a team level. The current theories neglect teams working in distributed geographical areas. The purpose of the paper is to integrate recent literature on knowledge work productivity (KWP) in distributed teams and give an overview of the elements affecting it.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper presents an overview of research performed in the field of knowledge work productivity. The authors integrate theories of different fields of management theory (knowledge management, intellectual capital and learning), and work and organizational psychology. This paper answers three questions: What is knowledge work? What is knowledge work productivity? Which elements hinder or enable knowledge work productivity in distributed teams of global technology companies?
Findings
The authors define the crucial elements that either hinder or enable KWP: team tasks, team structure and processes, the physical, virtual and social workspaces as well as organizational context. The paper presents an integrative model of KWP in distributed teams of global technology companies.
Practical implications
Distributed teams are common in global companies. By understanding the elements that affect KWP, companies can stimulate or decrease specific elements in order to improve productivity of their distributed knowledge workers.
Originality/value
This paper integrates theories from different disciplines in order to create an understanding about knowledge work and its productivity for further research.
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Aulikki Herneoja, Piia Markkanen and Eevi Juuti
This paper aims to build on the presumption that defining the spatial solution of the activity-based office environment through user-centred interdisciplinary dialog would…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to build on the presumption that defining the spatial solution of the activity-based office environment through user-centred interdisciplinary dialog would strengthen understanding of interdependencies between the environment and the worker. Secondly, this presumption also contributes to the idea that the shared and clarified concepts of a spatial solution through location-specific structuring, would support the research outcomes in being communicated to the design practice, and further improve the work environment design in the future. Thirdly, this supposition is that understanding, documenting and communicating of the interdependencies between the environment and the worker would contribute to increased interdisciplinary understanding, ultimately benefitting the end-user, the worker.
Design/methodology/approach
The driver of this conceptual paper is to encourage understanding across disciplinary boundaries and communication of work environment research results for implementation in design practice. The authors introduce an ecosystem-based approach to discuss the spatial solutions of activity-based office work environments. This approach is motivated by a need to understand the contradictory findings in former knowledge work environment research, such as ambiguities with shared concepts concerning interdisciplinary spatial discourse and shortcomings with user-centred methodologies in architectural design research. The transdisciplinarity forms the methodological framework of this paper, and it is reflected in relation to the design research approach Research by Design (RbD). RbD considers the professional designer’s viewpoint, which includes creative knowledge production, carrying out the operations of research in a real-life context with interdisciplinary interactions together with the worker’s user-experience.
Findings
The research outcome is the proposal of an activity-based office ecosystem-based approach, in which the physical environment is structured into two entities: architectural envelope and interior orchestration. In this twofold approach, both qualitative and quantitative contents are meant to be seen as part of the time-location-based framework of an office space. This integrative approach is intended to support the process of searching for understanding and unity of knowledge across disciplinary boundaries. The twofold structuring also has an essential role in supporting methodological choices and the communication of the research outcomes both between disciplines and to design practice. The twofold model also has a role in engaging users as participants and evidence providers in the design or research processes.
Originality/value
The location-specific ecosystem-based approach of the physical work environment compiles of a twofold entity architectural envelope and interior orchestration. This approach supports affordance-based thinking, understanding the ecosystem’s complexity and underpins spatial documentation. Furthermore, this location-specific ecosystem-based approach enables communication of the research outcomes to the design practice and participation actions with the users.
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Essi Tuomala, Vitalija Danivska and Robin Gustafsson
Corporate relocation is a rare event in the history of an individual company. The choices related to location, building and workplace constitute major long-term strategic…
Abstract
Purpose
Corporate relocation is a rare event in the history of an individual company. The choices related to location, building and workplace constitute major long-term strategic decisions that determine the company’s future operating environment. However, business decision-makers often do not evaluate all the aspects of relocation before making relocation decisions. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to systemise the knowledge behind corporate relocation and the strategic qualities and impacts of these choices.
Design/methodology/approach
This conceptual paper is based on a comprehensive literature review of 74 articles on the strategic qualities of short-distance corporate relocation of knowledge-intensive firms. Based on the review insights, a conceptual model of the strategic operational qualities for work environment selection is developed.
Findings
This paper identifies three strategic layers of physical environment change, namely, location, building and physical work environment, which need to be considered when deciding to relocate. Corporate relocation affects a company through five operational qualities, namely, staff productivity, costs, employee retention and availability, operational changes and organisational culture.
Practical implications
Relocation is a complex process for an individual company. Justifying choices based on direct costs can lead to unexpected changes in indirect costs for the company. This paper helps decision-makers understand the strategic importance of corporate relocation, identify relocation goals and plan successful relocation.
Originality/value
This paper uses a strategy and organisation lens to provide a systematic overview and synthesis of the strategic qualities of short-distance corporate relocation of knowledge-intensive firms.
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M. Reza Hosseini, Petra Bosch-Sijtsema, Mehrdad Arashpour, Nicholas Chileshe and Christoph Merschbrock
The “virtuality” of a team collaborative interaction is the extent to which it is accomplished in the same place, in fully distributed virtual teams, or in a hybrid combination of…
Abstract
Purpose
The “virtuality” of a team collaborative interaction is the extent to which it is accomplished in the same place, in fully distributed virtual teams, or in a hybrid combination of the two. However, existence, strength and process of potential association between virtuality and effectiveness in construction project teams have remained elusive. This paper aims to address this gap in the literature.
Design/methodology/approach
In this study, a conceptual model demonstrating the association between virtuality and effectiveness of teams was developed through integrating the input-process-output (IPO) model and the “Big Five” theory. This conceptual model was contextualised for the construction industry drawing upon conducting 17 semi-structured interviews with hybrid team experts.
Findings
The findings provide the first model mapping the associations between virtuality and dimensions of team effectiveness for the construction context.
Practical implications
The discovered patterns of associations between virtuality and dimensions of effectiveness for hybrid construction project teams (HCPTs) will assist managers in designing and running more effective teams. In addition, the findings help construction practitioners better understand how virtuality influence the performance and satisfaction of team members in HCPTs. The present study concludes with outlining a set of recommendations based on the findings of the study.
Originality/value
As the first study in its kind, the present study offers a new insight into the concept and impacts of virtuality for construction teams and provides instructions and guidelines for designing and maintaining the effectiveness of such teams on construction projects.