Developmental needs of workplace design practices

Abstract

Agreements concerning energy conservation and overgrown property expenses drive organizations to search for cost savings through efficient utilization of space. New multi-space office solutions have been developed to achieve these goals. Organizations expect relocation from traditional cell-offices to a multi-space office to promote a new positive working culture. However, relocation is often perceived as threatening by personnel, and resistance to change may be strong. The aim of the present case study was to describe and analyse a typical workplace design process, focussing on the success factors of change management in the context of a relocation from a traditional cell-office to a multi-space office. The results showed that the personnel was critical of both the workplace development project and the participative process. The case highlighted the importance of clear, common change goals, and open communication that allows constructive criticism. Moreover, it seems that management should be more active in their leadership, the roles of various stakeholders should be clarified, and the objectives and possible limitations of user participation should be openly discussed. In addition, new kinds of participative methods that would help analyse the demands of work and enhance communication between the design team and users should be developed.

Keywords:

• workplace design
• participatory process
• multi-space office
• well-being

Acknowledgements

The study is part of the “Energy-efficient and socially responsible working and learning environments” research project of the RYM Indoor Environment Program. The project has been carried out in co-operation between the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, the EDGE Laboratory of the Tampere University of Technology and pilot organizations in 2011–2015. The Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation and pilot organizations are greatly acknowledged for funding this research.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.