Journal of Interior Design ( IF 1.2 ) Pub Date : 2022-05-11 , DOI: 10.1111/joid.12218 Işıl Oygür 1 , Özgür Göçer 2 , Ebru Ergöz Karahan 1
The majority of changes that have occurred in workplace design are human made. Over the years, we witnessed developments in workplace design mostly resulting from technological advancements and organizational strategies that have been triggered by employee efficiency and productivity concerns together with the aim of cutting down facility costs (Harrison et al., 2004; Parker, 2016). The transformation from traditional to activity-based offices has followed a similar trajectory.
Activity-based offices have been the uprising workplace design strategy since its early application in technology and consultancy firms in the 1990s (Sachs, 1995). Activity-based offices provide different workstations for diverse work tasks (Wohlers & Hertel, 2017). The purpose of an activity-based office is to reduce rental and building costs (Haapakangas et al., 2018) while maintaining employee satisfaction and growth in productivity with workplace designs that target increased interaction among employees (Appel-Meulenbroek et al., 2011). This type of workplace design typically consists of unassigned workstations on a floor plan tailored to host different activities including collaborative work (e.g., meeting rooms, hubs, team benches), relaxation and socialization (e.g., break-out rooms, lounge corners, cafès), and concentration (e.g., cubicles, quiet rooms). Because employees do not have assigned desks, this requires the implementation of “clean desk policies” meaning no one can leave personal belongings, and they must keep the workstation that they use for the day, clean. These types of office strategies are cost-effective, especially for organizations where employees can also work elsewhere. Studies by Laing (2013) and Oseland et al. (2013) showed that organizations can cut costs if they keep the “desk-share ratio,” which is the ratio of desk space to the number of employees, between 50% to 70%.
This approach to workplace design has been aggressively promoted due to a non-hierarchical working environment, while enabling communication and collaboration among employees of all levels (Engelen et al., 2019; Wohlers et al., 2019) with the practices of clean desk policy the trend. On the other hand, key findings from activity-based office research are pointing to issues related to poor indoor environmental quality (Candido et al., 2019), privacy, personal control, territoriality, and organizational commitment (Elsbach & Pratt, 2007; Göçer et al., 2019).
Until COVID-19, the focus on activity-based office designs was to address these negative issues. However, the state of emergency due to the pandemic has overruled our knowledge on workplace design with the induction of a series of new evaluations, modifications on the ways of working and/or sharing of spaces, practices, and temporalities (Babapour Chafi et al., 2022). The impact of COVID-19 on work experience differs regarding the number of cases in that geography, precautionary measures taken by governments or businesses and organizations, and individual needs of workers: each story has become a unique case to analyze. We believe it is crucial to learn from people's experiences by giving them an opportunity to voice their concerns and share their ideas of those factors that affect their perception of the new working practices and work environments.
As a start, we conducted two semi-structured interviews with Alya and Lara (names changed to protect identity; see Table 1 and Figures 1 and 2) who were selected based on purposeful sampling among our acquaintances. Alya was introduced to an activity-based office after the pandemic, and Lara was working at an activity-based office pre-pandemic but will be working at a traditional office as she changed her job during the pandemic. Each interview lasted around 40 minutes, was conducted via Zoom, and audio-recorded. We asked questions about their experiences in their workplace pre-pandemic, during the pandemic, and post-pandemic.11 In this text, post-pandemic is used to refer to the period that starts with companies calling their employees back to work to office buildings after the government imposed stringent lockdowns and firm-based precautions of working from home. In Turkey, where Alya and Lara are located, all primary and secondary schools were shut down on March 16, 2020 which was followed by universities after 10 days. The government kept many businesses open between April 29 through May 17, 2020; yet all non-essential businesses were closed. On the other hand, companies were allowed to set their own action plans regarding remote working. With transitioning back to face-to-face learning in September 2021, business life in Turkey went back to “normal.” Considering the unique experience of each country during this pandemic, we describe the use of terminology in defining periods during the pandemic. Considering Turkish government restrictions and announcements, we acknowledged the period before April 2020 as “pre-pandemic,” between April 2020–September 2021 as “during pandemic,” and after September 2021 as “post-pandemic.”
By focusing on two participants, we aimed to scrutinize employees' narratives and practices during the pandemic from the perspective of resilience in workplaces and to start a research-based discussion on activity-based office design post-pandemic era.
| Alya (activity-based office post-pandemic) | Lara (activity-based office pre-pandemic) |
|---|---|
| “We missed being at the office, but in general we are happy with this hybrid solution.” | “I cannot remember what else our flexible workplace included. I am very used to working like that; that is the normal.” |
| Pre-pandemic Working from Office: Alya has 17 years of work experience. She was working at her last firm for 3 years when the COVID-19 pandemic started. Prior to the pandemic, every employee had their own desk, cupboard, and desk drawer in the open-plan office design. They were allowed to have personal belongings such as calendars, photos, or plants on their desks. The office space did not have relaxation or break-out zones. As the office had an open-plan, employees were using either a kitchen or a meeting room for private conversations. “I am used to working in open office plans. Every firm I worked had open-plan offices. I never had a private office room.” | Pre-pandemic Working from Office: Lara had been working for the same firm for 11 years when her firm decided to switch to working from home (WFH) as a part of COVID-19 precautions. This was Lara's first full-time job; she had no prior office experience. Since the day she started working, Lara had no assigned desk as the firm was practicing activity-based workplace strategy and clean desk policy. The space was an open-plan office. Each desk had screens and charging docks to plug laptops. Everyone worked at different desks and on different floors, based on their preferences and needs. Lara was WFH one day a week prior to the pandemic. At the office, she had a laptop, mouse, water bottle, mug, notebook, pens, and a cardigan as personal belongings. She stored these in an assigned locker at the end of each day. For her, the normal is being flexible and working at an activity-based office. |
| Early-pandemic Changes (WFH and Personalization): When Alya's firm switched to working from home (WFH) in the early days of the pandemic, the firm arranged for the office chairs, screens, desk lamp, and similar items to be sent to employees' homes. A few months into WFH, Alya needed to move to a new apartment she had been sharing with her sister. Alya said “the capabilities of our home were not important before the pandemic.” As both ended up WFH with the pandemic, the home was not large enough for accommodating workspace for two: “We needed to create a workspace for each of us.” They moved to a bigger apartment in a greener and more tranquil neighborhood. In this new apartment, Alya uses the living room as her workspace during the day. She placed her desk, which she seldomly used before the pandemic, at a corner and decorated it with her personal belongings (see Figure 1). | Early-pandemic Changes (WFH and Personalization): With the pandemic, Lara's firm asked employees to begin WFH. To support this transition, the firm offered employees to purchase one of two desk alternatives, a desk lamp, a file organizer, and some other office supplies free of charge from a store defined by the firm. They were also allowed to take an office chair and a screen to their homes, which Lara did not utilize since she already had these items. Lara reorganized the room that she was using as a workspace prior to COVID-19. She says, “I was able to create myself a quiet and comfortable workspace at home” (see Figure 2). Her desk at home does not include any personal belongings. When she was asked why, she explained preferring to keep her personal life separate and not needing such personal belongings in work areas. |
| During-pandemic (WFH and Socialization): Alya was not the only one who changed addresses during the pandemic. Alya's firm also moved to another location during this time. The new office is smaller and has downsized its space by a third. Thus, Alya and her colleagues will be working 3 days at the office and 2 days from home. Alya's firm has not called them back to the office but gave them the option to use the office whenever they want. Alya goes to the office every now and then based on her need to work collaboratively or individually for the day. “I enjoy going to the office. Working at the office is good for socializing and getting work done more quickly. At home, you need to ask if someone is available for a call and arrange to connect. At the office, you just ask the one sitting next to you, it is more practical. I find working at the office more productive when the task requires teamwork.” | During-pandemic (WFH and Socialization): During the pandemic, Lara switched jobs. Her new company has a traditional open-plan office. Lara's new company still practices WFH but is planning to call employees back soon. The specific arrangements for moving back to the office are not yet determined. She mostly had positive comments on the remote working practices. She finds not commuting a big plus. At the same time, she mentioned social needs and the motivations that come from change of space as the downsides of WFH. “I wish I could see someone and chat with a colleague… I used to have access to a view from the office. Now, it is boring to look at this white wall every day.” |
| Post-pandemic (Hybrid Office): Alya's firm also implemented new policies such as clean desks, lockers to secure personal belongings, designated areas for each department, and relaxation zones. When in the office, Alya works at different desks most of the time. Her first concern is not about hygiene but finding a desk at an isolated corner. While she enjoys being at the office for collaboration, she finds it hard to focus on work with the new office design. “Being at the office is good as I find colleagues to discuss about working subjects, but on the other hand, the open-plan office urges people to hear each other's conversations which makes it hard to concentrate.” Thus, Alya prefers to stay at home when she needs to concentrate, “as there is no distraction at home, it is good WFH.” She also finds WFH convenient as she does not have to get up early and spend time in traffic. | Post-pandemic (Hybrid Office): Lara believes that the pandemic showed everyone that they can get their work done from home. For this reason, she expects her firm not to ask everyone back 5 days a week in the office. Employers should provide flexibility especially due to the ongoing pandemic issues. If they start working from the office, Lara thinks she might feel uncomfortable using desks or common areas because of hygienic concerns. |
| During and Post-pandemic (Work-life Balance): Alya also described a negative side of WFH. Alya's work hours are long, and it is normal for her to receive calls at 11 pm. WFH has extended these hours because Alya keeps the computer on all the time. This makes it harder for her to get away from work both physically and mentally. On the contrary, when Alya is in the office, she can leave the work behind. “I struggle to balance work and personal life… the computer is always on. I, at least, check my emails. There are days in which the work hours never end … When I am at the office, at the end of the day, I feel the work hours ended. I do not feel the same when I am WFH. I am not well disciplined in terms of this.” | During and Post-pandemic (Work-life Balance): Lara's statements also indicate how she arranges work and personal life balance through a division of space. She shared her memory of leaving the laptop at the office for most of the time and not working on job-related issues after leaving the office. Now, she tries to keep her laptop always in the room where she works and tries not to carry the work in other rooms of the house. However, she also is experiencing longer work hours in order to get the job done. While this is not necessary, she feels pressure as her main workspace is now at her home. |
中文翻译：
混合工作场所：后大流行时代基于活动的办公室设计†
工作场所设计中发生的大多数变化都是人为的。多年来，我们目睹了工作场所设计的发展，主要源于技术进步和组织战略，这些发展是由员工效率和生产力问题引发的，以及降低设施成本的目的（Harrison et al., 2004 ; Parker, 2016）。从传统办公室到基于活动的办公室的转变遵循了类似的轨迹。
自从 1990 年代早期应用于技术和咨询公司以来，基于活动的办公室一直是兴起的工作场所设计策略（Sachs， 1995 年）。基于活动的办公室为不同的工作任务提供不同的工作站（Wohlers & Hertel， 2017）。基于活动的办公室的目的是降低租金和建筑成本（Haapakangas 等人， 2018 年），同时通过旨在增加员工之间互动的工作场所设计来保持员工满意度和生产力增长（Appel-Meulenbroek 等人， 2011 年））。这种类型的工作场所设计通常包括平面图上的未分配工作站，专为举办不同活动而定制，包括协作工作（例如，会议室、中心、团队长椅）、放松和社交（例如，休息室、休息室角落、咖啡厅）和注意力（例如，隔间、安静的房间）。由于员工没有指定的办公桌，这需要实施“清洁办公桌政策”，这意味着任何人都不能留下个人物品，他们必须保持他们一天使用的工作站清洁。这些类型的办公室策略具有成本效益，特别是对于员工也可以在其他地方工作的组织。Laing ( 2013 ) 和 Oseland 等人的研究。( 2013) 表明，如果组织将“办公桌占有率”（即办公桌空间与员工人数的比率）保持在 50% 到 70% 之间，就可以削减成本。
由于无等级的工作环境，这种工作场所设计方法得到了积极推广，同时通过清洁办公桌政策的实践，使各级员工之间能够进行沟通和协作（Engelen 等人， 2019 年；Wohlers 等人， 2019 年）趋势。另一方面，基于活动的办公室研究的主要发现指出了与室内环境质量差（Candido 等， 2019）、隐私、个人控制、地域性和组织承诺相关的问题（Elsbach & Pratt， 2007；Göçer等人， 2019 年）。
在 COVID-19 之前，基于活动的办公室设计的重点是解决这些负面问题。然而，由于大流行导致的紧急状态推翻了我们对工作场所设计的认识，引发了一系列新的评估、对工作方式和/或空间、实践和时间共享的修改（Babapour Chafi 等人。 , 2022）。COVID-19 对工作经验的影响因该地区的病例数量、政府或企业和组织采取的预防措施以及工人的个人需求而异：每个故事都成为一个需要分析的独特案例。我们认为，通过让他们有机会表达他们的担忧并分享他们对影响他们对新工作实践和工作环境感知的因素的看法，从人们的经验中学习是至关重要的。
首先，我们对 Alya 和 Lara 进行了两次半结构化访谈（改名以保护身份；参见表 1 和图 1 和图 2），他们是根据我们熟人的有目的抽样选择的。大流行后，Alya 被介绍到一个以活动为基础的办公室，而 Lara 在大流行前在一个以活动为基础的办公室工作，但由于她在大流行期间换了工作，她将在传统办公室工作。每次采访持续约 40 分钟，通过 Zoom 进行，并进行录音。我们询问了他们在大流行前、大流行期间和大流行后工作场所的经历。11 在本文中，大流行后是指在政府实施严格的封锁和基于公司的居家工作预防措施后，公司将员工召回办公大楼开始工作的时期。在 Alya 和 Lara 所在的土耳其，所有中小学于 2020 年 3 月 16 日停课，10 天后大学紧随其后。政府在 2020 年 4 月 29 日至 5 月 17 日期间保持了许多企业的营业；然而，所有非必要业务都关闭了。另一方面，公司被允许制定自己的远程工作行动计划。随着 2021 年 9 月恢复面对面学习，土耳其的商业生活恢复了“正常”。考虑到每个国家在这次大流行期间的独特经历，我们描述了在定义大流行期间的术语时使用的术语。考虑到土耳其政府的限制和公告，我们承认 2020 年 4 月之前的时期为“大流行前”，2020 年 4 月至 2021 年 9 月之间为“大流行期间”，2021 年 9 月之后为“大流行后”。
通过关注两个参与者，我们旨在从工作场所的复原力角度审视员工在大流行期间的叙述和实践，并就大流行后时代基于活动的办公室设计展开基于研究的讨论。
| Alya（大流行后基于活动的办公室） | Lara（基于活动的办公室大流行前） |
|---|---|
| “我们错过了在办公室的感觉，但总的来说，我们对这种混合解决方案感到满意。” | “我不记得我们灵活的工作场所还包括什么。我很习惯这样工作；那是正常的。” |
| 大流行前在办公室工作：Alya 拥有 17 年的工作经验。当 COVID-19 大流行开始时，她在最后一家公司工作了 3 年。在大流行之前，每个员工在开放式办公室设计中都有自己的办公桌、橱柜和办公桌抽屉。他们被允许在办公桌上放日历、照片或植物等个人物品。办公空间没有放松或休息区。由于办公室是开放式的，员工可以使用厨房或会议室进行私人交谈。“我习惯于在开放式办公室计划中工作。我工作的每家公司都有开放式办公室。我从来没有私人办公室。” | 大流行前在办公室工作：Lara 已经在同一家公司工作了 11 年，当时她的公司决定改用在家工作 (WFH) 作为 COVID-19 预防措施的一部分。这是劳拉的第一份全职工作。她之前没有办公室工作经验。 从她开始工作的那天起，劳拉就没有分配办公桌，因为公司正在实施基于活动的工作场所策略和清洁办公桌政策。这个空间是一个开放式办公室。每张桌子都有屏幕和充电座，可以插入笔记本电脑。每个人都根据自己的喜好和需求在不同的办公桌和不同的楼层工作。大流行前一周的一天，劳拉是 WFH。在办公室，她有一台笔记本电脑、鼠标、水瓶、马克杯、笔记本、钢笔和一件开衫作为个人物品。每天结束时，她将这些物品存放在指定的储物柜中。对她来说，正常情况是灵活并在以活动为基础的办公室工作。 |
| 大流行初期的变化（WFH 和个性化）：当 Alya 的公司在大流行初期转为在家工作 (WFH) 时，公司安排将办公椅、屏幕、台灯和类似物品发送给员工' 家。进入 WFH 几个月后，Alya 需要搬到她与姐姐合住的新公寓。Alya 说：“在大流行之前，我们家的能力并不重要。” 由于两人都因大流行而结束了 WFH，所以房子不够大，无法容纳两个人的工作空间：“我们需要为每个人创造一个工作空间。”他们搬到了一个更环保、更宁静的社区的更大公寓。在这间新公寓里，Alya 白天将客厅用作她的工作空间。她将自己在大流行之前很少使用的办公桌放在角落，并用她的个人物品装饰了它（见图1）。 | 大流行的早期变化（WFH 和个性化）：随着大流行，Lara 的公司要求员工开始 WFH。为支持这一转变，公司向员工提供从公司定义的商店免费购买两种桌面替代品之一、台灯、文件整理器和其他一些办公用品。他们还被允许带一张办公椅和一个屏幕回家，劳拉没有使用这些东西，因为她已经有了这些东西。Lara 重组了她在 COVID-19 之前用作工作空间的房间。她说：“我能够在家中为自己创造一个安静舒适的工作空间”（见图 2）。她在家里的办公桌上没有任何个人物品。当被问及原因时，她解释说宁愿将自己的个人生活分开，并且在工作区不需要此类个人物品。 |
| 大流行期间（WFH 和社会化）：Alya 并不是唯一在大流行期间更改地址的人。在此期间，Alya 的公司也搬到了另一个地点。新办公室更小，空间缩小了三分之一。因此，Alya 和她的同事将在办公室工作 3 天，在家工作 2 天。Alya 的公司没有把他们叫回办公室，而是让他们可以随时选择使用办公室。Alya 时不时地去办公室，根据她一天中协作或单独工作的需要。“我喜欢去办公室。在办公室工作有利于社交和更快地完成工作。在家里，您需要询问是否有人可以接听电话并安排接通。在办公室，你问坐在你旁边的人，更实用。当任务需要团队合作时，我发现在办公室工作更有效率。” | 大流行期间（WFH 和社会化）：在大流行期间，劳拉换了工作。她的新公司有一个传统的开放式办公室。Lara 的新公司仍在实施 WFH，但计划很快召回员工。搬回办公室的具体安排尚未确定。她大多对远程工作的做法有积极的评价。她发现通勤不是一个很大的优势。同时，她提到社交需求和空间变化带来的动力是WFH的缺点。“我希望我能看到某人并与同事聊天……我曾经可以从办公室看到风景。现在，每天看着这面白墙很无聊。” |
| 大流行后（混合办公室）：Alya 的公司还实施了新政策，例如清洁办公桌、保护个人物品的储物柜、每个部门的指定区域和休闲区。在办公室时，Alya 大部分时间都在不同的办公桌上工作。她首先关心的不是卫生，而是在一个偏僻的角落找一张桌子。虽然她喜欢在办公室进行协作，但她发现很难专注于新办公室设计的工作。“在办公室找同事讨论工作话题很好，但另一方面，开放式办公室鼓励人们听到彼此的谈话，让人难以集中注意力。” 因此，Alya 更喜欢在需要集中注意力的时候呆在家里，“因为家里没有分心，所以在家办公很好。”她还发现 WFH 很方便，因为她不必早起和堵车。 | 大流行后（混合办公室）：劳拉认为，大流行向每个人展示了他们可以在家完成工作。出于这个原因，她希望她的公司不会要求每个人每周 5 天都在办公室。雇主应提供灵活性，尤其是由于持续存在的大流行问题。如果他们从办公室开始工作，Lara 认为她可能会因为卫生问题而在使用办公桌或公共区域时感到不舒服。 |
| 大流行期间和之后（工作与生活的平衡）：Alya 还描述了 WFH 的负面影响。Alya的工作时间很长，晚上11点接电话是正常的。WFH 延长了这些时间，因为 Alya 一直保持计算机开启。这让她在身体和精神上都更难摆脱工作。相反，当Alya在办公室时，她可以把工作抛在脑后。“我努力平衡工作和个人生活……电脑一直开着。我，至少，检查我的电子邮件。有些日子工作时间永远不会结束……当我在办公室时，在一天结束的时候，我觉得工作时间结束了。当我是 WFH 时，我感觉不一样。在这方面，我没有很好的纪律。” | 大流行期间和之后（工作与生活的平衡）：劳拉的陈述还表明她如何通过空间划分来安排工作和个人生活的平衡。她分享了大部分时间将笔记本电脑留在办公室，离开办公室后没有处理与工作相关的问题的记忆。现在，她试图将笔记本电脑始终放在她工作的房间里，并且尽量不把工作带到房子的其他房间。然而，为了完成工作，她也经历了更长的工作时间。虽然这不是必需的，但她感到压力，因为她的主要工作空间现在在她家。 |
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