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The demands and resources arising from shared office spaces
Rachel L Morrison1, Keith A Macky2
1Management Dept., Faculty of Business and Law, Auckland University of Technology, Private Bag 92006, Auckland 1142, New Zealand.
Applied Ergonomics
|February 8, 2017
Summary
Flexible and shared office spaces increase job demands, negatively impacting employee well-being. Co-worker friendships and supervisor support did not improve in these environments, contrary to expectations.
Area of Science:
- Organizational Psychology
- Workplace Studies
Background:
- Flexible and shared office spaces, including hot-desking, are increasingly common.
- The socioemotional outcomes of these work environments are not well understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the demands and resources associated with shared work environments using the job demands-resources (JD-R) model.
- To assess the impact of shared spaces and hot-desking on worker well-being.
Main Methods:
- Survey data collected from 1000 experienced workers.
- Assessed shared office space extent, job demands (distractions, conflict, distrust, negative relationships), and resources (friendships, supervisor support).
Main Results:
- Increased sharing in office spaces correlated with higher job demands.
- Co-worker friendships did not improve, and perceived supervisor support decreased in more shared environments.
- Hot-desking represented an extreme of shared environments with negative implications.
Conclusions:
- Shared work environments, particularly hot-desking, can increase job demands and negatively affect socioemotional outcomes.
- Recommendations are needed to mitigate adverse effects on employee well-being in flexible workplaces.
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