Perception of Work Environment and Well-being in Activity-based Office - Three-wave Longitudinal Study

Abstract

Activity-based offices (ABOs) have become increasingly common. Yet, longitudinal studies investi-gating the effects of change are rare. This three-wave longitudinal study compared perceptions of privacy and office support, satisfaction with the work environment, and well-being in an organiza-tion that renovated private offices into an ABO (maintaining assigned desks). Questionnaires were administered four months before and eight and 21 months after the change. Data on 34 employ-ees from the first and 21 from the second follow-up were analyzed. Privacy, perceived office sup-port for work tasks, and work engagement decreased at both follow-ups. No effects were found on perceived office support for interaction or job satisfaction. Satisfaction with the work environment decreased at the eight-month follow-up. This study’s long follow-up demonstrated the negative effects of office redesign on the perception of privacy, support for work tasks, satisfaction with the work environment, and well-being.