Positive social interactions and feeling connected with people around us are fundamental human needs and crucial to our well-being. This dissertation explores how interior office design could foster workers’ social well-being. The research indicates that to enhance social interactions and a sense of belonging, factors like atmosphere, diversity, and privacy may be more important than a fancy coffee corner.@en

The rise of remote working has highlighted the importance of office spaces that support employees’ social well-being. However, there is a lack of explicit knowledge on how to design such spaces. In order to address this gap, this study explored the strategies employed by practitioners in designing social office spaces. In-depth interviews with fifteen experienced interior designers were analysed using means-end chain theory. This revealed the designers’ common aim to encourage informal social interactions through creating attractive, spacious, recognisable, and spatially integrated breakout spaces. Additionally, communicating group identity, promoting visibility, and offering a cosy atmosphere aimed to foster a sense of connectedness among employees. These findings not only enable more deliberate design decisions but also serve as valuable insights for less experienced designers. Moreover, the framework of design components, affordances and design objectives that emerged from this study can enhance communication between designers and stakeholders involved in office projects.

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The prolonged working from home during the recent pandemic has increased awareness of the social function of the office: employees missed informal social interaction with co-workers, face-to-face meetings, and spontaneous encounters. If the trend of hybrid working persists, one of the main functions of the physical office will be to support face-to-face interaction and social bonding for increasing well-being, innovation, and organizational commitment. This short paper explores how workplace design could support the social well-being of its users based on established theory in the field of environmental psychology. First, individual social well-being at work and social workplace affordances are defined. Next, workplace affordances for social well-being are deducted from theories on the psychology of space, such as Space syntax theory, Privacy regulation theory, Behavior setting theory, and Place attachment theory. From this analysis, three categories of workplace design features are induced which could support social well-being at work: interaction affordances, privacy affordances, and identity affordances. A conceptual framework is presented that connects social well-being components to these three categories of affordances. This framework can serve as a starting point for the collection of empirical studies, the deduction of specific social affordances from design practice, and the development of design strategies for enhancing social well-being in offices.@en

Background and aim – Lack of privacy is a prominent issue in contemporary offices. This study aimed to identify interior design features that jointly influence satisfaction with privacy and noise in the office workspace, and estimate their predictive power. This knowledge can inform strategic workplace design. Methods – Eight design features were defined that were expected to influence visual, acoustic and physical privacy, noise from other people and acoustic quality, and which would be easy to report for users. Data were collected through an online survey among office workers in the Dutch public sector (N = 323). The joint impact of design features on the experienced privacy and noise was calculated through ordinal regression analysis. Results – The data indicate that small, relatively isolated rooms predict privacy and noise satisfaction better than privacy screens, soft flooring, and visibility control. Workspace soundproofing increases satisfaction with sound privacy and acoustics, but it does not reduce noise annoyance. Originality – This study operationalizes architectural privacy along several dimensions and from a user perspective, and hierarchically relates them to specific workspace satisfaction outcomes, generating actionable insights for workplace designers. Practical and social implications – The study can serve as a source for evidence-based workplace design and management that aims to balance user needs for privacy and quiet against their need for social interaction. Currently, this balance is especially important because hybrid working may increase the need for informal interaction at the office while there still is a need for privacy and quiet spaces. Type of paper – Research paper (full).@en

This second book in the series focuses on the role of workplace management in the organization and the tasks that workplace management needs to consider. The 18 theories that are presented in this book and applied to workplace research discuss management aspects from the organization’s perspective or dive deeper into issues related to people and/or building management. They all emphasize that workplace management is a complex matter that requires more strategic attention in order to add value for various stakeholders. The final chapter of the book describes a first step towards integrating the presented theories into an interdisciplinary framework for developing a grand workplace management theory.@en

Purpose: It is widely recognized that interior office space can affect health in several ways. Strategic and evidence-based design, including explicit design objectives, well-chosen design solutions and evaluation of results, aid realization of desired health effects. Therefore, this paper aims to identify possibly effective interior design strategies and accompanying design solutions and to provide examples of effectiveness measures. Design/methodology/approach: A literature sample of 59 peer-reviewed papers published across disciplines was used to collect examples of workplace design features that have positively influenced workers’ well-being. The papers were grouped by their health objective and design scope successively and their theoretical assumptions, measures and findings were analyzed. Findings: Four main workplace design strategies were identified. Design for comfort aims at reducing or preventing health complaints, discomfort and stress, following a pathogenic approach. It has the longest tradition and is the most frequently addressed in the included papers. The other three take a salutogenic approach, promoting health by increasing resources for coping with demands through positive design. Design for restoration supports physical and mental recovery through connections with nature. Design for social well-being facilitates social cohesion and feelings of belonging. Design for healthy behavior aims at nudging physical activity in the workplace. Originality/value: By drawing complementary perspectives and offering examples of design solutions and effectiveness measures, this paper encourages workplace designers, managers and researchers to take a transdisciplinary and evidence-based approach to healthy workplaces. It also serves as a starting point for future empirical research.

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Many theories from different research disciplines apply to workplace design and management. This chapter describes a first attempt to integrate 21 of those theories into an overall employee-workplace alignment (EWA) framework, as a starting point towards developing a grand EWA theory. Through concept mapping, the tacit knowledge underlying each theory was made explicit in three to five statements that were sorted by 22 experts. By performing multidimensional scaling and cluster analysis, the statements were grouped into eight concepts that reflect the essence of the 21 theories within three regions of meaning: ‘Need-Supply Alignment’, ‘Cognition and Behaviour’, and ‘Organisational Context’. The framework created from the eight concepts connects the different theories in many ways. A further discussion of the three regions and underlying concepts of the framework, in relation to existing workplace research and theory, identifies many research gaps that need attention before the EWA theory can be fully developed. The chapter ends with implications for practice and some closing words for the entire book.

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Background and aim – While remote working is not a new phenomenon, Covid-19 has forced many office workers to work from home for long consecutive periods. Recent research shows that while most of them say they can work productively from home, many feel less connected to their colleagues. This study explores how these experiences may influence employees’ needs towards the office workplace. Methods – Cross-sectional data were used from an online survey among four Dutch public sector organisations conducted between November 2020 and February 2021. These data include perceptions of 567 office workers regarding their workplace, both at home and at the office, and their motivations for working at the office. Results – The survey data show that the main reason to (want to) work at the office has shifted from meeting expectations to the need for informal social interaction. On the other hand, many still need the office for doing concentration work. Although the home workplace feels more comfortable, ultimately it is not rated better than the office workplace. The respondents indicate several shortcomings of their current office regarding support of socializing, belongingness, and privacy. Originality – While in the media different assumptions have been made about consequences of Covid-19 for future office use, few empirical studies have been conducted to substantiate these expectations. Practical implications – This study shows that Covid-19 has increased the need for in-person interaction at the office without decreasing the need for silence, and indicates how offices could better support socializing balanced with concentration work. Type of paper – Short research paper. @en

Purpose: Health has taken a leading role in office design and investments. In the knowledge-intensive world, employees are acknowledged to be organisations’ most important asset, their health and well-being is an important investment in the current office market. In this paper, the purpose is to identify different design strategies for creating healthy workplaces to give direction to design and future research in this rapidly expanding area.Theory: Workplace design is able to harm or support health in different ways. For instance, exposure to toxic emissions, loud noise and daylight directly affect physical health. Mental health is affected by work environments causing or buffering stress, or by constraining or fulfilling basic human needs. Psychological theories of arousal, environmental load and stress explain how the amount and appraisal of stimuli affect wellbeing. An imbalance between demands imposed and resources offered by the working environment can cause burnout. Indirectly, the office space design could influence health by nudging healthy behaviour. Design/methodology/approach: A literature review was conducted to deduct design strategies for health from existing research on health effects of workplace design. Academic search engines were used to find peer-reviewed papers that measured the relationship between features of interior office space, and health conditions or healthy behaviour of the office workers. From the initial database of 2816 papers, 59 were included for further analysis.Findings: Related to interior office space, three design strategies for employee health were identified. The most traditional strategy, designing for comfort, aims to create a comfortable environment by fulfilling the bodily and psychological needs of the users, and preventing harm, stress, and frustration. Designing for revitalization aims to decrease office workers’ stress by offering an environment that supports physical recovery and renewal of psychological resources. Designing for healthy behaviour aims at stimulating physical activity, healthy nutrition, or relaxing activities.Originality/value: This research contributes to a nuanced and positive perspective on healthy offices. By identifying strategies for prevention of harm as well as strategies for creating positive influences, it reveals promising directions for further research and salutogenic design. By outlining existing empirical research it provides a foundation for evidence-based workplace design within the different design strategies@en

Voor een gezonde en comfortabele kantooromgeving is meer nodig dan hygiëne en frisse lucht, ook de juiste indeling en inrichting zijn belangrijk. Dit artikel biedt een overzicht van wetenschappelijke kennis over kantoorinrichting en gezondheid op basis van systematisch literatuuronderzoek. Sommige aspecten van het interieur blijken een overwegend negatieve invloed te hebben op gezondheid, andere een positieve, maar veel is nog niet goed onderzocht, zoals de sociale aspecten. Het artikel sluit af met aanbevelingen voor doelgericht ontwerp en systematische evaluatie.@en

Health is a trending topic in the office market, yet scientific research on healthy offices is scattered. This study undertakes a systematic literature review on the relationship between the interior space of offices and physical, psychological and social well-being. The review identifies the characteristics of interior office space that have been studied in relation to employee health, and outlines the empirical evidence. Of 2816 papers in the database, 50 addressed the relationship between interior office space and health and did so based on six features: layout, furniture, light, greenery, controls and noise. Evidence on the relationship between interior space and health has accumulated only within a few topics. On the one hand, open-plan offices, shared rooms and higher background noise are negatively related to health. On the other hand, positive relationships are found between physical well-being and aspects that encourage physical activity; between physical/psychological well-being and (day)light, individual control and real/artificial greenery; and between social well-being and small shared rooms. In measuring health, physical well-being is predominant. Similarly, studies have predominantly aimed to prevent health problems rather than enhance health. Overall, the related research is in a nascent stage. Further research is required to verify claims about healthy offices.

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Purpose: The covid-19 pandemic has increased awareness of office workers’ need for real-life social interaction, connectedness and belongingness at work. The purpose of this paper is to present a way to study this important, but still under-examined, social dimension of employee well-being in relation to workplace design. A conceptual model outlines how the physical work environment might support or inhibit perception and behaviour related to social well-being of individual office workers. A research strategy is presented to develop a framework for guiding the design of workplaces. Theory: Several well-being theories consider relatedness a basic human need. Fulfilling this need requires satisfying social interactions, leading to positive relationships and feelings of belonging. Spatial characteristics could encourage or discourage social interaction by influencing natural movement, visibility and privacy. In the workplace social interaction can be a support as well as a burden, depending on, for instance, privacy preferences and work activities. Therefore, the conceptual model presented here includes spatial characteristics encouraging or discouraging social interaction as well as the employee’s perception, behaviour, personal and situational factors. Methodology: First, workplace design and social well-being are defined and their relationship is depicted in a conceptual model. Subsequently, a mixed-methods approach is proposed to develop this model into a framework of relationships between specific workplace design elements and components of users’ social well-being. The proposed research strategy starts with an exploratory phase of additional literature study, analysis of case-study data, and pilot studies to identify parameters and try out methods. The subsequent phase of main data collection and analysis includes (a) a large-scale quantitative study using statistic modeling to identify significant relationships between outcome and predictor variables, and (b) a series of field experiments applying empirical research through design for studying ways to manipulate key predictors of social well-being using design interventions. The third phase synthesises the findings and translates them into a framework to guide workplace designers and other stakeholders. Findings: The model states that workplace design influences social well-being through actual and perceived affordances and behaviour, influenced by organizational and personal factors. Therefore it is acknowledged that measures for both the actual and the perceived work environment need to be developed. Similarly, measurement of both actual and perceived social interaction adds value to the insight in the relationship between workplace design and social wellbeing. Collecting data in real-life settings in contemporary offices will enhance the internal and external validity of the framework. Originality/value: The concept of social well-being at work has not yet been well defined and studied in a comprehensive and systematic way, nor has it entirely been connected to actual and perceived characteristics of the physical work environment. This paper makes a start with unravelling the complex relationship between workplace design, social interaction and social well-being, and offers a framework and practical suggestions for further research. @en

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to aid conceptualization of social well-being at work by identifying its components in a contemporary office context, so adequate measures can be developed to monitor social well-being and to assess the impact of interventions in the workplace. Design/methodology/approach: This study used existing interview data from recent post-occupancy evaluations of two large activity-based flexible offices in the Dutch public sector. Data-driven concept mapping of 182 different employees' statements on social aspects of well-being was used to find communalities in their perceptions. Findings: From the data 14 key concepts emerged referring to employees' social needs, reactions to (anti-)social behaviour of others and perceived social affordances of the work environment. Contrary to established theory, social well-being appeared to be a context-bound phenomenon, including components of both short-term hedonic and long-term eudaimonic well-being. Research limitations/implications: The findings serve as an inductive source for the further development of adequate measures of social well-being at work. Limitations concern the specific (cultural) setting of the cases and the use of existing data. Practical implications: Preliminary suggestions for fostering social well-being include change management, participatory design, being alert of the identified risks of activity-based offices and supporting privacy regulation, identity marking and a sense of community, as well as a diversity of informal face-to-face interactions balanced with quiet spaces. Originality/value: This article contributes to the conceptualization of social well-being in contemporary offices by discussing established social well-being theory and analysing real-world data, using a method novel to management research.

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Purpose: Burnouts are on the rise and now make up for over 50% of the long-term sicknessleave in The Netherlands. Little is known about the job demands and resources regarding thephysical work environment in offices. The aim of this paper is to study the impact of thephysical work environment of offices on the employee’s health and wellbeing. More specific,to find out which elements of physical work environment do have a positive or negative impacton physical or mental health and wellbeing of office workers based on empirical evidence. Design/methodology/approach: The study is based on systematic literature review includingapprox. 2600 papers published in international scientific journals across different disciplinesfrom 1993 until today. The papers were reviewed through three scans. In the first and secondscans, papers were included or excluded based on the title and abstract. In the third scan, theentire paper was read resulting approx. 200 papers to include for the final analysis. Findings: The study expects to find the main elements of the physical work environment thatimpact on employees’ health and wellbeing based on the empirical evidence. The preliminaryfindings show that the past ten years the amount of research in this field has grownsubstantially. More studies seem to focus on indoor environment, especially indoor climate,than on elements of workplace design like layout, furnishing or greenery. Recently design toactivate the employees has become a popular subject. Practical implications: For practitioners, such as designers, HR professionals and facilitymanagers, the systematically collected evidence about the health effects of the physical workenvironment inform and enhance workplace design and thereby contribute to a healthier workenvironment in offices. For researchers it shows which physical elements of the officeenvironment are studied well and which elements may need further investigation related tophysical or mental occupational health. Originality/value: Scientific research about the impact of building features on health andwellbeing is often limited to healthcare facilities (healing environment). This studysystematically collects the empirical evidence from the impact of office on health andwellbeing across different discipline.@en