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Article
Publication date: 31 October 2023

Eziaku Onyeizu Rasheed, Maryam Khoshbakht and George Baird

This paper aims to illustrate the extensive benefits of qualitative data analysis as a rarely undertaken process in post-occupancy evaluation surveys. As a result, there is…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to illustrate the extensive benefits of qualitative data analysis as a rarely undertaken process in post-occupancy evaluation surveys. As a result, there is limited evidence of what occupants say about their buildings, especially for operational parameters, as opposed to how they rate them. While quantitative analyses provide useful information on how workers feel about workplace operational factors, qualitative analyses provide richer information on what aspects of the workplace workers identify as influential to their comfort, well-being and productivity.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors analysed 6,938 comments from office buildings worldwide on workers’ perception of workplace operational factors: design, storage, needs, space at desks and storage in their work environments. These factors were analysed based on the buildings’ design intent and use, and the associated comments were coded into positive, negative and balanced comments. The authors used a combination of coding, descriptive analysis, content analysis and word cloud to dissect the comments.

Findings

The findings showed that whereas workers rated these operational factors favourably, there were significantly more negative comments about each factor. Also, the Chi-square test showed a significant association (p < 0.01) between the satisfaction scale and the type of comments received for all the operational factors. This means that when a factor is rated high in the satisfaction score (5–7), there were fewer negative and more positive comments and vice versa. The word cloud analysis highlighted vital aspects of the office environment the workers mostly commented on, such as open plan design, natural lighting, space and windows, toilets, facilities, kitchens, meeting room booking systems, storage and furniture.

Research limitations/implications

This study highlights the importance of dissecting building occupants’ comments as integral to building performance monitoring and measurement. These emphasise the richness and value of respondents’ comments and the importance of critically analysing them. A limitation is that only 6,938 comments were viable for analysis because most comments were either incomplete with no meaning or were not provided. This underlines the importance of encouraging respondents to comment and express their feelings in questionnaire surveys. Also, the building use studies questionnaire data set presents extensive opportunities for further analyses of interrelationships between demographics, building characteristics and environmental and operational factors.

Practical implications

The findings from this study can be applied to future projects and facility management to maintain and improve office buildings throughout their life cycle. Also, these findings are essential in predicting the requirements of future workplaces for robust workplace designs and management.

Originality/value

The authors identified specific comments on the performance of workplaces across the globe, showing similarities and differences between sustainable, conventional, commercial and institutional buildings. Specifically, the analysis showed that office workers’ comments do not always corroborate the ratings they give their buildings. There was a significantly higher percentage of negative comments than positive comments despite the high satisfaction scores of the operational factors.

Details

Facilities , vol. 42 no. 3/4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0263-2772

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 January 2024

Ebru Baykal Uluoz and Göksenin Inalhan

This paper aims to propose and provide an overview of a model analysis that considers the main spatial design attributes that influence and produce the most relevant salutogenic…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to propose and provide an overview of a model analysis that considers the main spatial design attributes that influence and produce the most relevant salutogenic outcomes. These results are essential for a healthy work experience, especially in shared workspaces.

Design/methodology/approach

This study departs from the theoretical contributions of the salutogenic approach, principles from supportive design theory, psychosocial supportive design and the environmental demands and resources model. After a scoping literature review covering different fields of workspace design, environmental psychology and evidence-based design of health-care facilities, a conceptual analysis is done on a proposed understanding of work, health and environmental relations to overview spatial attributes that enhance specific salutogenic and well-being-promoting outcomes needed for a healthy work experience.

Findings

The model of analysis, as a theoretical element that helps create methodological tools, combined with the application of a post occupancy evaluation, is thought to assist architects, designers, workspace owners and stakeholders in their new designs or to evaluate existing ones.

Originality/value

Studies on defining spatial attributes and their intended salutogenic outcomes have been formally done in health-care facilities. However, applying this idea to shared workspaces is something new and is expected to contribute to their design and evaluation, especially if the notion of environmental demands and resources is complemented.

Details

Journal of Corporate Real Estate , vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1463-001X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 30 January 2024

Louise Suckley and Marko Orel

This paper aims to examine the learning gained from the evolving adjustment experiences of co-workers in moving to home-based working during the COVID-19 pandemic and the…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to examine the learning gained from the evolving adjustment experiences of co-workers in moving to home-based working during the COVID-19 pandemic and the influence of these experiences on re-adjusting to return to co-working.

Design/methodology/approach

Results of a longitudinal qualitative study are reported where a group of co-workers were interviewed on three occasions between 2019 and 2022. Experiences are analysed alongside the adjustment to the remote work model using a boundary management lens.

Findings

The main adjustment experiences were in work location, temporal structures, professional and social interactions, and a new adjustment area was identified around family role commitment that emerged in the home-based setting. Boundary management practices were temporal, behavioural, spatial and object-related and evolved with the unfolding of adjustment experiences. A return to using co-working spaces was driven by the need for social interaction and spatial boundaries but affected by the requirement for increased privacy.

Practical implications

This paper will help workplace managers to understand adjustment experiences and develop facilities that will support a positive shared working environment not fulfilled through home-based working.

Originality/value

Although many workers abruptly transitioned to home-based working during the pandemic, this research considers those who would normally choose to work in a community-centred working environment rather than being home-based. As such, their experience of adjustment is of greater interest, particularly in terms of their expectations for shared working spaces.

Details

Journal of Workplace Learning, vol. 36 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1366-5626

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 27 January 2023

Davit Marikyan, Savvas Papagiannidis, Omer F. Rana and Rajiv Ranjan

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had a big impact on organisations globally, leaving organisations with no choice but to adapt to the new reality of remote…

1089

Abstract

Purpose

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had a big impact on organisations globally, leaving organisations with no choice but to adapt to the new reality of remote work to ensure business continuity. Such an unexpected reality created the conditions for testing new applications of smart home technology whilst working from home. Given the potential implications of such applications to improve the working environment, and a lack of research on that front, this paper pursued two objectives. First, the paper explored the impact of smart home applications by examining the factors that could contribute to perceived productivity and well-being whilst working from home. Second, the study investigated the role of productivity and well-being in motivating the intention of remote workers to use smart home technologies in a home-work environment in the future.

Design/methodology/approach

The study adopted a cross-sectional research design. For data collection, 528 smart home users working from home during the pandemic were recruited. Collected data were analysed using a structural equation modelling approach.

Findings

The results of the research confirmed that perceived productivity is dependent on service relevance, perceived usefulness, innovativeness, hedonic beliefs and control over environmental conditions. Perceived well-being correlates with task-technology fit, service relevance, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, attitude to smart homes, innovativeness, hedonic beliefs and control over environmental conditions. Intention to work from a smart home-office in the future is dependent on perceived well-being.

Originality/value

The findings of the research contribute to the organisational and smart home literature, by providing missing evidence about the implications of the application of smart home technologies for employees' perceived productivity and well-being. The paper considers the conditions that facilitate better outcomes during remote work and could potentially be used to improve the work environment in offices after the pandemic. Also, the findings inform smart home developers about the features of technology which could improve the developers' application in contexts beyond home settings.

Details

Internet Research, vol. 34 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1066-2243

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 June 2023

Luiz Henrique da Silva, Tatiana Ghedine and Francielle Molon da Silva

This article aims to analyze the way the leader acts in the development of collective competencies (CC) of fashion work teams, seeking to demonstrate ways in which the leader can…

Abstract

Purpose

This article aims to analyze the way the leader acts in the development of collective competencies (CC) of fashion work teams, seeking to demonstrate ways in which the leader can collaborate for the development of the collective work.

Design/methodology/approach

With a qualitative approach, this paper carried out a case study strategy having the Creation Center of a fashion group from Santa Catarina, Brazil as a research object. Data collection took place through semi-structured interviews and participant observation with 36 employees from 6 work teams from 5 clothing brands.

Findings

Our findings make it clear that the leader influences the CC development of fashion work teams. The leader's role becomes essential for directing and developing his team, seeking to encourage participation and cooperation between team members to achieve the objectives and expected results. It was considered that the CC development could be associated with how much the leader represents his team and contributes with guidelines that emphasize the collective and the people and teams' development. The leader who makes the cooperative relationship feasible, encourages effort and promotes cohesion and teamwork tends to collaborate with actions that foster CC development.

Originality/value

From a theoretical perspective, it is the first study to analyze empirically the relationship between leadership and CC. A model with 18 guidelines was developed, divided into six determining factors (activity dynamics, team composition, individual characteristics and dispositions, team integration, communication and physical structure) that demonstrated the way the leader collaborates for the CC development. For the fashion industry, this study demonstrates elements capable of assisting collective creativity and the development of fashion collections.

Details

Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management: An International Journal, vol. 28 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1361-2026

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 12 March 2024

Natália Ransolin, Tarcisio Abreu Saurin, Robyn Clay-Williams, Carlos Torres Formoso, Frances Rapport and John Cartmill

Surgical services are settings where resilient performance (RP) is necessary to cope with a wide range of variabilities. Although RP can benefit from a supportive built…

Abstract

Purpose

Surgical services are settings where resilient performance (RP) is necessary to cope with a wide range of variabilities. Although RP can benefit from a supportive built environment (BE), prior studies have focused on the operating room, giving scant attention to support areas. This study takes a broader perspective, aiming at developing BE design knowledge supportive of RP at the surgical service as a whole.

Design/methodology/approach

Seven BE design prescriptions developed in a previous work in the context of internal logistics of hospitals, and thus addressing interactions between workspaces, were used as a point of departure. The prescriptions were used as a data analysis framework in a case study of the surgical service of a medium-sized private hospital. The scope of the study included surgical and support areas, in addition to workflows involving patients and family members, staff, equipment, sterile instruments and materials, supplies, and waste. Data collection included document analysis, observations, interviews, and meetings with hospital staff.

Findings

Results identified 60 examples of using the prescriptions, 77% of which were related to areas other than the operating rooms. The developed design knowledge is framed as a set of prescriptions, examples, and their association to workflows and areas, indicating where it should be applied.

Originality/value

The design knowledge is new in surgical services and offers guidance to both BE and logistics designers.

Details

Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0969-9988

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 January 2024

R. Karpagavalli and L. Suganthi

In a post-pandemic era, the hybrid workspace (HW) that came into practice now remains a new normal way of working for employees. This new practice has received a great deal of…

Abstract

Purpose

In a post-pandemic era, the hybrid workspace (HW) that came into practice now remains a new normal way of working for employees. This new practice has received a great deal of attention from researchers recently. However, the impact of HW on the affective well-being (AWB) of employees is less investigated. The present study focuses on the relationship between HW and affective states (positive and negative affects together) and the role of positive work reflection (PWR).

Design/methodology/approach

This present research work is based on the cross-sectional data collected from employees of IT and software sectors in India, through the purposive convenience sampling method (N = 329). Respondents were identified through the social and industrial connections of the authors. Structural equation modeling with AMOS 24 was adopted for hypothesis testing.

Findings

The empirical findings showed that HW is positively related to positive affects, negatively related to negative affects and positively associated with PWR. In addition, the PWR can partially mediate the relationship between HW and affective states, which is in line with the existing literature on PWR.

Originality/value

By exploring the less investigated link between HW and affective states, this study offers new insights into the understanding of HW and AWB. Based on the ideas of cognitive appraisal theory, this study contributes to the literature by proposing and analyzing PWR as a mechanism that partially mediates the influence of HW on the positive and negative affects of employees. These findings will facilitate the decision-makers, employees and organizations to understand the essential benefits of HW in the form of affective states and PWR. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first study to explore the relationship between HW, PWR and AWB of employees.

Details

Kybernetes, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0368-492X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 22 March 2024

Emma Clarke, Katharina Näswall, Jennifer Wong, Fleur Pawsey and Sanna Malinen

The anticipation of organizational change and the transition process often creates uncertainty for employees and can lead to stress and anxiety. It is therefore essential for all…

Abstract

Purpose

The anticipation of organizational change and the transition process often creates uncertainty for employees and can lead to stress and anxiety. It is therefore essential for all organizations, especially those that operate in high-demand working environments, to support the well-being of staff throughout the change process.

Design/methodology/approach

Research on how employees respond to the organizational change of relocating to a new work space is limited. To fill this gap in the research, we present a case study examining the well-being of clinical and health care employees before and after a disruptive change: relocation in workplace facilities. In addition, factors that enabled successful change in this high-stress, high-demand working environment were investigated. Interviews were conducted with 20 participants before the relocation and 11 participants after relocation. Following an inductive approach, data were analyzed using thematic analysis to identify key themes.

Findings

Our findings suggest that a supportive team, inclusive leadership and a psychologically safe environment, may buffer negative employee well-being outcomes during disruptive organizational change.

Originality/value

This research contributes to the literature on successful organizational change in health care by highlighting the resources which support well-being throughout the change process and enabling the successful transition to a new facility.

Details

Journal of Health Organization and Management, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1477-7266

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 12 February 2024

Kate-Riin Kont

This article surveys why libraries are vulnerable to social engineering attacks and how to manage risks of human-caused cyber threats on organizational level; investigates…

Abstract

Purpose

This article surveys why libraries are vulnerable to social engineering attacks and how to manage risks of human-caused cyber threats on organizational level; investigates Estonian library staff awareness of information security and shares recommendations concerning focus areas that should be given more attention in the future.

Design/methodology/approach

The data used in this paper is based on an overview of relevant literature highlighting the theoretical points and giving the reasons why human factor is considered the weakest link in information security and cyber security and studying how to mitigate the related risks in the organisation. To perform the survey, a web questionnaire was designed which included 63 sentences and was developed based on the knowledge-attitude-behaviour (KAB) model supported by Kruger and Kearney and Human Aspects of Information Security Questionnaire (HAIS-Q) designed by Parsons et al.

Findings

The research results show that the information security awareness of library employees is at a good level; however, awareness in two focus areas needs special attention and should be improved. The output of this study is the mapping of seven focus areas of information security policy in libraries based on the HAIS-Q framework and the KAB model.

Originality/value

The cyber awareness of library employees has not been studied in the world using HAIS-Q and KAB model, and to the best of the authors’ knowledge, no research has been previously carried out in the Estonian library context into cyber security awareness.

Details

Library Management, vol. 45 no. 1/2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-5124

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 19 February 2024

Cristina-Alexandra Trifan, Roxane de Waegh, Yunzi Zhang and Can-Seng Ooi

This paper explores the collaborative dynamics and dimensions within a virtual multi-cultural and interdisciplinary workplace. The study focusses on the use of online…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper explores the collaborative dynamics and dimensions within a virtual multi-cultural and interdisciplinary workplace. The study focusses on the use of online communication technologies to enhance social inclusion and networking within academia.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses an autoethnographic approach to draw on the personal experiences of a team of four scholars, including three early-career researchers and a senior scholar. Their reflections on their academic positionality and the institutional constraints reveal both the strengths and vulnerabilities of collaborating in a virtual workplace.

Findings

The findings offer insights into the complexities of navigating social dynamics, such as delegating responsibilities, organising meetings across various time zones and encouraging continuous collaboration, inclusivity and effective communication during an extensive timeline. As a result, their experiences revealed that a virtual workplace culture with similar and different attributes to a “normal” workplace emerged.

Originality/value

The paper demonstrates how to create an effective and inclusive virtual workplace by exemplifying best practices in academia and providing practical guidance for individuals and institutions based on honest, co-produced autoethnographic reflections of the authors’ lived experiences.

Details

Journal of Organizational Ethnography, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2046-6749

Keywords

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