Towards Needs-Based Work Environments Optimising PE Fit and TE Fit in ABW Environments ERES 2017, Jan Gerard Hoendervanger

Researcher: Jan Gerard Hoendervanger Supervisors: Nico W. Van Yperen

Mark P. Mobach

Casper J. Albers Co-funded by: In cooperation with:

The Psychology of Activity-Based Working

The Psychology of Activity-Based Working

Workplace icons: © Center for People and Buildings

4

Dependingontheac#vityathand,workerschooseanappropriateplacetowork

àVarietyofplaces(se0ngs)fordifferentac6vi6es

àSwitchingbetweenplaceswhenswitchingbetweenac6vi6es

àNon-assignedworkplaces

(àReducednumberofworkplaces–highoccupancyrates)

(àOpenandtransparentdesign–focusoninterac6on,limitedprivacy)

Activity-Based Work Environment

WhyareABWenvironmentssopopular?

Efficiency: less workplaces are needed if these are shared,

because more work is done at home and at third places.

Effectiveness: different types of workplaces are needed to

facilitate the diversity of tasks that are carried out.

•  Sa5sfac5onwithABWenvironmentsiso<enbelowexpecta5ons,withlackofprivacy,concentra5onandassignedworksta5onsasmajorissues(e.g.,VanderVoordt,2004;BodinDanielsson&Bodin,2009;DeBeen&Beijer,2014)

•  Strikingdifferencesbetweencases/loca5ons,evenwithinthesameorganisa5on(e.g.,Bruniaetal.,2016)

•  Innon-territorialoffices,workerstendtousethesameworksta5onmostofthe5me(e.g.,Quetal.,2010;Appel-Meulenbroeketal.,2011).

Findings from previous research (and observations in practice)

1. Flexibility in Use; Switching behaviour and satisfaction in ABW environments

•  Switching frequencies are related to activity profile and external mobility

•  Most important reasons (not) to switch have a social or psychological nature

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Hoendervanger et al. (2016), Journal of CRE

How about individual differences?

2. Individual differences in satisfaction with ABW environments

• High need for privacy à low satisfaction

• Long service / high age

• High job autonomy à high satisfaction

• High interaction

• High internal mobility

Antecedents of dissatisfaction

•  User behaviour

à Discrepancies between intended and actual use of work setings?

•  Personal characteristics (e.g., need for privacy, age)

•  Job characteristics (e.g., activity profile, autonomy, interaction, mobility)

•  Case characteristics (e.g. design, implementation, organisational context)

3. Satisfaction with ABW environments as a function of user behaviour

Ac#vity-  Highconcentra#on-  Lowconcentra#on

Se5ng-  Openplan-  Privateroom

Sa#sfac#onwithworkenvironment

Perceivedfit

Needforprivacy

Data collection

•  Experience sampling

•  Mobile technology

à Detailed, reliable, person-related data

www.myplace2work.com

Example: Individual focus work at org. X

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Workplaces used Perceived fit

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

= 53% of all measured activities

3. Satisfaction with ABW environments as a function of user behaviour •  Discrepancies between intended and actual use of activity settings are

very common practice (50% of the observations), mostly concentration work in open plan areas.

•  These discrepancies produce experiences of perceived misfit, which contribute substantially to low satisfaction ratings (R2

Adj. = .35).

•  This is particularly true for workers high in need for privacy.

Both task-environment fit and person-environment fit are important with respect to privacy/concentration in ABW environments.

5. Lab experiment in Virtual Reality

Ac#vity-  Highconcentra#on-  Lowconcentra#on

Se5ng-  Openplan-  Privateroom

PerceivedfitNeedforprivacy

Taskperformance

4. Virtual Reality experiment

5. Individual differences in switching behaviour within ABW environments

Workplace icons: © Center for People and Buildings

How to optimise satisfaction with ABW environments? • Change user behaviour – choosing and switching between settings

à Only as far as ABW fits personal and job characteristics

• Optimise workspace design

•  Improve quality and quantity of settings for focus work

•  Limit distractions and interruptions in open plan areas

• Recognise individual differences

•  Encourage and facilitate differentiated work patterns within teams

•  Provide assigned (multifunctional) workstations if needed

Towards Needs-Based Work Environments Optimising PE Fit and TE Fit in ABW Environments ERES 2017, Jan Gerard Hoendervanger