Stolthet och målgång - En kvalitativ studie av förändring mot och upplevelsen av att arbeta aktivitetsbaserat

Abstract

A prevalent trend amongst organisations today is the adoption of Activity Based Workplaces (ABW). The ABW is a unique office design concept where employees do not have their own workstation but instead choose their seating depending on the tasks that they are performing. The most common arrangement is to divide the workplace into different zones customized for focused work, active work and other activities. The current study examines the experiences of employees following their move from an open plan office to an ABW. Qualitative methods were employed using semi structured interviews with five employees and one HR manager from an international company with their Nordic headquarters in Gothenburg, Sweden. The company moved to their current location in January 2019 allowing interviews to be conducted with employees who had only three months experience of working in an ABW. This represented a unique approach within the body of literature, thereby filling a research gap, as previous investigations have tended to examine outcomes over a longer period of time. The present study’s primary research questions centred on what effect the move had on employee engagement and job satisfaction, and what impact the change management had for employees’ experience of working in ABW. Theoretical 3 frameworks used included Change Management Theory, Job Satisfaction Theory and Employee Engagement Theory. The study’s main findings are that the move to a new ABW office created a positive impact on employee engagement according to most of the employees interviewed. Overall, employee engagement improved derived from employees’ pride in their new workplace and its design, and employees’ ability to work towards goals. Consistent with previous research the employees reported that the main challenge related to job satisfaction and maintaining team spirit, due to difficulties in finding colleagues during the working day. Additionally, the current’s study’s findings highlighted the importance of the implementation process. This supports previous investigations where change management has been identified as the vital factor between a positive and a negative outcome when organisations relocate to an ABW office. Employees reported that the change management experience was good and that their attitudes about working in an ABW remained unchanged when comparing thoughts before and after the move to their new ABW office.