Choosing Where to Work at Work – Towards a Theoretical Model of Benefits and Risks of Activity-based Flexible

Wohlers, Christina; Hertel, Guido

Abstract

Although there is a trend in today’s organizations to implement activity-based flexible offices (A-FOs), only a few studies examine consequences of this new office type. Moreover, the underlying mechanisms why A-FOs might lead to different consequences as compared to cellular and open-plan offices are still unclear. This paper introduces a theoretical framework explaining benefits and risks of A-FOs based on theories from work and organizational psychology. After deriving working conditions specific for A-FOs (territoriality, autonomy, privacy, proximity and visibility), differences in working conditions between A-FOs and alternative office types are proposed. Further, we suggest how these differences in working conditions might affect work-related consequences such as well-being, satisfaction, motivation and performance on the individual, the team and the organizational level. Finally, we consider task-related (e.g., task variety), person-related (e.g., personality) and organizational (e.g., leadership) moderators. Based on this model, future research directions as well as practical implications are discussed.Practitioner Summary:Activity-based flexible offices (A-FOs) are popular in today’s organizations. This article presents a theoretical model explaining why and when working in an A-FO evokes benefits and risks for individuals, teams and organizations. According to the model, A-FOs are beneficial when management encourages employees to use the environment appropriately and supports teams. Although there is a trend in today’s organizations to implement activity-based flexible offices (A-FOs), only a few studies examine consequences of this new office type. Moreover, the underlying mechanisms why A-FOs might lead to different consequences as compared to cellular and open-plan offices are still unclear. This paper introduces a theoretical framework explaining benefits and risks of A-FOs based on theories from work and organizational psychology. After deriving working conditions specific for A-FOs (territoriality, autonomy, privacy, proximity and visibility), differences in working conditions between A-FOs and alternative office types are proposed. Further, we suggest how these differences in working conditions might affect work-related consequences such as well-being, satisfaction, motivation and performance on the individual, the team and the organizational level. Finally, we consider task-related (e.g., task variety), person-related (e.g., personality) and organizational (e.g., leadership) moderators. Based on this model, future research directions as well as practical implications are discussed.Practitioner Summary:Activity-based flexible offices (A-FOs) are popular in today’s organizations. This article presents a theoretical model explaining why and when working in an A-FO evokes benefits and risks for individuals, teams and organizations. According to the model, A-FOs are beneficial when management encourages employees to use the environment appropriately and supports teams.