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This study aims to examine the key components to facilitate flexible work arrangement (FWA) and the issues and challenges arisen in preparing the workplace for FWA during Covid-19, and to recommend better approach of FWA implementation in workplace.

This study adopted extensive literature review and case studies approach using interviews and observations to determine the key components to facilitate FWA and the issues and challenges arisen in preparing the workplace for FWA during Covid-19, and to recommend better approach of FWA implementation in workplace. Three offices that owning FWA experience during Covid-19 and featuring flexible workspace concepts, elements and layouts in Klang Valley, Malaysia were chosen as case studies.

Findings have suggested that there are four components required to form flexible workspace for FWA adoption, such as open plan workspace design, task-oriented space, hot desking policy and IT infrastructure. Interestingly, the interview findings do not support the idea that the flexible furniture can facilitate FWA; instead, they believe that versatile, acoustical and aesthetical furniture may be installed when necessary. Among the issues and challenges faced were rearranging and designing open office plan layout, hot desk relocation and reconfiguration of spaces where people may congregate. Lastly, this research recommends that innovative planning software and tools, smart technology and apps, modern IT technology and infrastructure, and digital apps can be introduced to the workplace to help FM manage and monitor the facilities operations, workplace situations and occupancy rates.

Since the outbreak of Covid-19, FWA such as “Work From Home” and remote working have become the mainstream in the workplace, affecting how the workplace looks and feels as flexible working is fundamentally related to the flexible workspace. From Facilities Management (FM) perspective, FWA is the biggest consequence of Covid-19, but it also presents opportunities and certain challenges to incorporate a new office environment and employees’ needs in terms of FWA into the corporate culture.

New ways of working (NWW) change some fundamental processes in the workplace. NWW practices like teleworking, flexible workspaces, and flexible working hours lead to different behaviors of employees. But does the employment of NWW practices also have an impact on the innovation behavior of employees? This chapter explores this relationship and uses qualitative data from case studies to illustrate the complex linkages between three components of NWW and IWB.

The purpose of this paper is to take an explanatory role and analyse the development of workspace ambiences in coworking spaces which optimise the chance of interactivity between individual users and leading towards cooperation. The paper thus offers a discussion on how the ambience that is tailored to a particular coworking space enhances the possibility of collaboration between two or more users of a selected workspace.

Ethnographically guided observations of six coworking spaces and qualitative interviews with their managers were used to gain an understanding of the workspace ambiences in coworking spaces. As direct measurement of the frequency of collaboration would be logistically profound, this paper rather explores the conditions for spontaneous or moderated interactivity between workspace users, which may be regulated by the creation of an optimal coworking space ambience.

The following paper defines the coworking space ambience as the look and the feel of a work environment which can arouse certain moods towards a particular place and its users. Coworking spaces may impose various approaches that not only attract potential workspace users and form initial ties between them but also produce a certain ambience that leads to collaborative action between users. The factors of spatial design need to be adapted, and engagement strategies need to be constructed to maximise the preferential output. The research behind the following paper concludes that the factors of spatial comfortability are an essential predisposition for workspace users to engage in cooperation with each other. Various mechanisms are needed to customise these engagements into cooperative action.

While the outcomes of sharing these environments have been periodically explored, no attempts have been made to investigate how coworking ambience is being created and implemented to optimise collaborative efforts of individuals who are sharing the workspace. For that reason, the audience of this paper should not only be limited to academics but may also be suitable for managers and office-space operators seeking to understand dynamics of collaboration within new types of shared office spaces.

The purpose of this paper is to present a model of “environmental control”. Environmental control can be provided through: furnishings and work tools that can be modified or manipulated, choice of time and location of work, organizational policies for flexible work programs, training, and computing and communications technologies that extend control. This paper seeks to propose that enhanced environmental control is related to improved individual, group and organizational performance.

A conceptual model is presented of environmental control coupled with a review and analysis of relevant literature that support the model and identify areas that require further development and research.

The literature review and analysis show support for the model of environmental control. The research reviewed reveals a consistent relationship between workplace capabilities that provide control, and positive behavioral and business performance outcomes for individuals, teams and business units. The review identifies gaps in the empirical support for the model and provides directions for future research.

Ultimately, environmental control is proposed as a means for providing choice about where, when and how to work, which can be used to improve the performance of people and organizations. Thus, environmental control is a crucial capability in which organizations should invest, by optimizing choice through workspace, policies, and technology. By leveraging control as a central component of workplace strategy, organizations may enhance their competitive advantage.

Much of the research described in the paper, and methods employed, are appropriate for exploratory research and theory‐building.

Many corporates in India are constantly adapting real estate benchmarks to reduce the workspace maintenance cost. However, anecdotally benchmarking the experience of clients while designing the workspace maintenance policies is not adequately taken into consideration in India. The focus of this study is on benchmarking workspace usage based on client usability.

The research is descriptive in nature. A structured questionnaire was sent to Information Technology (IT) companies in India to collect data through SurveyMonkey. Stratified sampling was used to collect a sample of 697 respondents which was also verified using G* software. The data collected was analysed using descriptive statistics and partial least square–structured equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to investigate the mediating effect of benchmarking the workspace usage on portfolio optimization and client satisfaction.

The structural model results obtained through the bootstrapping technique show that benchmarking workspace usage for real estate management positively impacts client satisfaction in the Indian IT workspace. The findings of this study support the full mediation effect (97%) and indicate that benchmarking practices are necessary for developing strategies for optimal portfolio asset utilization and are essential to survive in the current competitive business environment.

The findings of this study were influenced by the feedback from the top 100 IT clients in India. The research findings vary according to the cost-benefit analysis of adopting benchmarking measures in small and medium-sized IT companies which still benchmark the workspace usage based on cost-saving measures. Also, very sparse research has been conducted in the workspace management domain of IT firms, so the results of this study can further be used as a reference to explore this area.

The study provides useful insights into how benchmarking in the workspace management domain of the CRE industry can be applied to address portfolio-related challenges, divergent client needs and improve workspace usability following energy-efficient policies. Practitioners can use this study as a guide to develop more effective workspace management policies.

This study may guide other firms to benchmark their current workspace usage and evaluate the impact of their workspace management policies based on the theoretical framework of value-added balanced benchmarking criteria.

This research adds value to the limited literature available on the impact of technology-enabled portfolio optimization techniques through benchmarking which can reduce workspace usage and enhance the usability of the workspace.

Many organizations in Hong Kong have witnessed a reduction in average space usage due to high occupancy costs. New working practices (NWPs) are viewed as a reform tool to manage expensive real estate around the world. However, it is unclear whether NWPs influence office space usage in business organizations in Hong Kong. This study, therefore, aims to evaluate if the average space reduction in office firms is caused by the NWPs in the finance, insurance, real estate and business (FIREB) firms.

A total of 20 NWPs were initially derived from the extant literature. A questionnaire survey was conducted with listed FIREB firms in Hong Kong to assess the impact of the identified NWPs on space usage. The data collected from the questionnaire survey were analysed using descriptive, explorative factor analysis (EFA) and partial least squares-structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) to evaluate the effects of NWPs on average space usage.

Results revealed that four major NWP factors influence average space usage. Three of these factors, namely, “flexible arrangement”, “multitasking knowledge workers” and “teamwork and communication”, influence space usage positively. Even though the effect of the fourth factor “training and networking” was significant, it does not reflect a positive influence on space usage. Business organizations can focus more on the implementation of NWPs to cushion the effects of the high cost of occupancy.

The research provides new knowledge to the limited literature on the effect of NWPs in FIREB firms and enriches the growing body of international literature on how today’s competitive global business organizations should revisit their workplace strategies to accommodate the rising agile workforce and NWPs. The findings offer new insights into the ongoing debate on the impact of information and communication technology-enabled NWPs on space usage. From the real estate perspective, the findings should inform policymaking towards the better planning ahead of office properties to accommodate NWPs, helping Hong Kong to remain competitive as a key financial centre.

This paper aims to propose a novel hand to bridge the gap between the traditional rigid robot hands and the soft hands to obtain a better grasping performance.

The proposed hand consists of three fingers. Each finger has 15 degrees of freedom and three phalanxes, which can bend in one direction when load is applied, but they are rigid toward the opposite direction at the initial position. The grasping process and simulations of the fingers are discussed in this paper. Both kinematic and dynamics analyses are performed to predict the performance of the hand. Subsequently, a prototype of the hand is developed for experiments.

Both kinematics and dynamics analyses indicate good grasping performance of the hand. Simulations and experiments confirm the feasibility of the finger design. The hand can execute hybrid grasping modes with more uniform force distribution and a larger workspace than traditional rigid fingers. The proposed hand has much potential in the industrial sector.

A new method to obtain better grasping performance and to bridge the gap between the rigid finger and the soft finger has been presented and verified. The hand combines the advantages of both the rigid phalanxes and the soft fingers. Compared with some traditional rigid fingers, the proposed design has a more uniform force distribution and a bigger workspace.

The purpose of this paper is to address the knowledge gap by analysing the motivations of driving both users and hosts to the co-working space in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia as the motives of co-working space is related to how well that space supports their needs.

By using a mixed-methods approach, users’ and hosts’ behaviours were studied through the survey and in-depth interview, where 60 users were interviewed, as well as six operators of co-working space and two real estate market experts.

Based on the results, convenient location, open space layout and ambiance, shared facilities, membership costs, flexible leases and knowledge sharing are the main motives that drive users to the co-working space and these motives are significantly related to user satisfaction. The results also showed that the users’ motives for working in the co-working space differ mostly from hosts in terms of service attributes.

The co-working space is more than just an office alternative but is a service-oriented real estate business. By providing the appropriate combination of attributes to succeed financially, co-workspace providers can support most of their members’ tasks, which leads to member satisfaction.

Research on the co-working place is still inadequate, particularly in Malaysia. Greater knowledge of attributes that influence users’ and hosts’ responses could lead to a better understanding and prediction in determining their needs and preferences.