[Free] The Activity Based Workplace

What you’ll learn

• Understanding Organizational and office design
• Understand the various benefits of different flow designs
• Understand how design can improve on a healthy environment
• Understand why and how open designs promote communications

Requirements

• No prerequisites

Description

Multiple studies show that worker satisfaction is, for the most part, positively impacted by activity-based working. Some employees tend to appreciate the available spaces for breaks and collaboration, the aesthetics, and the improved interaction with their colleagues. But, there are also reports of dissatisfaction, especially concerning misuse of the concept (e.g. territorial behavior), design mistakes (e.g. bad acoustics), and flawed implementation processes (e.g. a lack of user involvement).

One primary psychological reason for peoples tendency to develop routines, such as using the same desk, is that people often want to remain seated close to their colleagues. It is important to encourage and support mobility in the office as research shows that the more mobile people are, the more satisfied they are with the activity-based working concept. The problem is that there are many factors involved and that the productivity of office workers is usually hard to measure. To deal with this, most studies limit themselves to perceived or self-rated productivity. But even then, it is difficult to reach conclusions. Some studies have found positive impacts, others negative ones, and some have found zero effects.

Positive impacts are associated with improved communications and an increased sense of empowerment while negative impacts tend to relate to an increase in distractions and the extra time needed to find a suitable workplace. As with productivity, the available health research is based on self-reported ratings rather than actual measurements of peoples well-being. Activity-based workings impact seems to have a very positive effect on much of todays business environment.