Social and Psychological Adaptation to Open-Plan Workplace Designs
| dc.contributor.advisor | Delfabbro, Paul | |
| dc.contributor.advisor | King, Daniel | |
| dc.contributor.author | James, Olivia Isabel Shirley | |
| dc.contributor.school | School of Psychology | en |
| dc.date.issued | 2021 | |
| dc.description.abstract | The association between office design and occupant outcomes has been widely examined. In general, people working in more open or shared offices report poorer outcomes on a range of psychological, productivity and environmental satisfaction measures. However, not all studies and occupants report negative experiences. Accordingly, the overarching aim of this thesis was to examine some of the reasons for individual differences, with a particular focus on variations in work type and factors such as personality. The thesis commenced with a systematic review of the existing literature which examined the office design – occupant outcome association to provide context for the empirical review that followed. The second part of this thesis presented the findings of a survey study on knowledge workers experiences working in different office configurations. These findings are set out in four studies. The primary aims of these four studies were: 1) To determine how office design relates to occupant outcomes (i.e., health, work, and social); 2) To determine the extent to which the type of work (i.e., cognitively demanding work) moderated the association between office design and occupant outcomes (i.e., health, work, and social); 3) To explore how perceived importance of collaboration to complete work is related to social outcomes in the workplace; 4) To explore the extent to which personality (introversion / extraversion) moderated the association between office design and occupant outcomes (i.e., health, work, and social). An online cross-sectional survey collected 714 responses from knowledge workers in various office configurations in relation to their health (physical and psychological), work (productivity, job satisfaction, satisfaction with work environment), and social outcomes, as well as possible office protocols and adaptive behaviours. Findings from the first two studies indicated that, the type of work completed was found to moderate the relationship between office design and occupant outcomes, i.e., people who completed more “cognitively demanding” work in open-plan work environments reported worse health and occupational outcomes than those whose work is less cognitively demanding. The findings from the third study suggested that occupants will collaborate with others at work if they perceive it to be important, regardless of their office configuration. The findings from the fourth study indicated that compared to extraverts, introverts scored lower on a range of measures of productivity, satisfaction and social interactions in open-plan workplace designs. Furthermore, introverts were found to utilise fewer adaptive behavioural strategies and to be less aware of office protocols than extraverts in open-plan work environments. Finally, the concluding paper in this thesis explored innovative office designs from the last decade and how the current global pandemic, COVID-19, is influencing how and where people work now and into the future. Findings from this thesis point to the complex and multifactorial nature of the office design – occupant outcome association. It is clear that no single office configuration is suitable for all organisations. Instead, it is essential that the individual needs of the occupants and organisation (based on both work type and individual differences) are considered in order to maximise both occupant and organisational outcomes. | en |
| dc.description.dissertation | Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, School of Psychology, 2021 | en |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/2440/134202 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | en |
| dc.provenance | This electronic version is made publicly available by the University of Adelaide in accordance with its open access policy for student theses. Copyright in this thesis remains with the author. This thesis may incorporate third party material which has been used by the author pursuant to Fair Dealing exceptions. If you are the owner of any included third party copyright material you wish to be removed from this electronic version, please complete the take down form located at: http://www.adelaide.edu.au/legals | en |
| dc.subject | Psychology | en |
| dc.subject | Organisational Psychology | en |
| dc.subject | Open-Plan Offices | en |
| dc.subject | Workplace Design | en |
| dc.title | Social and Psychological Adaptation to Open-Plan Workplace Designs | en |
| dc.type | Thesis | en |
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