On Workers’ Fit with Activity-Based Work Environments

Activity-based work (ABW) environments, providing workers with a variety of non-assigned work settings, seem heading to become the new normal in the post-COVID-19 world of work. Yet, research has shown mixed results, which call the effectiveness of the concept into question. To find clues for the optimization of ABW practice, the current PhD research project was designed to examine how workers’ jobs, tasks, behaviors, psychological needs, and demographic characteristics may be related to their perceived fit. Two survey-based studies revealed relevant workers’ attributes, which were further examined in experience-sampling field studies and a virtual reality experiment. The findings demonstrate that perceived fit, resulting from the alignment of workers’ needs and abilities with the environment’s supplies and demands, may explain mixed outcomes of ABW environments. From these findings, a clear profile arises of workers who best fit with ABW environments, i.e.: high task variety, job autonomy, external and internal mobility, social interaction, and need for relatedness; low need for privacy; few high-complexity tasks, many non-individual tasks; appropriately using open and closed work settings; frequently switching between work settings; relatively young age. Furthermore, lack of privacy for high-concentration work, due to the highly prevalent use of open work settings, appeared to be the single-most important issue in current ABW practice. The ABW concept is clearly not a one-size-fits-all solution and requires careful implementation to provide the right mix of work settings, and to stimulate workers to use them in accordance with their varying and changing needs

Non-assigned private rooms for concentrated work:an effective stress management solution?

Purpose – In many organizations, a major part of the daily activities is perceived as concentrated work (53% in this study). Hence, a lack of privacy at the workplace may be considered as a serious environmental stressor. Activity-based work environments usually provide non-assigned private rooms, to be used on an as-need basis. Is this an effective stress management solution? Design/Methodology – Repeated measurements were collected, using a mobile application. Respondents provided data about their activities, the workplaces they used, and the degree of job strain they experienced. They also filled out a questionnaire regarding psychological and job characteristics. Results – A total of 3480 measurements was provided by 114 respondents, working at a Dutch public service organisation. The availability of private rooms did not seem to provide an effective stress management solution. Only 17% of the concentrated work was indeed performed in these rooms. When other types of workplaces were used, this caused (strong) dissatisfaction in 40% of the occasions. This dissatisfaction correlated with individual differences regarding need for privacy (p = .026). Limitations – Because only one specific organization and work environment is studied, further research is needed to test the generalizability of our findings. Research/Practical Implications – When performing concentrated work, people often choose not to use a private room, despite their dissatisfaction. Further research should focus on explaining and possibly influencing this behaviour. Originality/Value – Repeatedly measuring activity type together with workplace type and workplace satisfaction, provides a solid basis to analyse behavioural patterns and environmental stressors within activity-based work environments