“That was easier when we were sitting together”: Managerial work as ordering with place

Abstract

This article explores how the changes brought about by flexible offices affect managerial work, focusing on middle managers. Our study of three organizations that have adopted flexible offices reveals that middle managers face increased responsibilities and additional activities after such adoption, highlighting an intensification of their work. Combining the practice perspective with the theoretical lens of place and its concepts of trajectory and throwntogetherness, we put forward a definition of managerial work as situated ordering that is an ongoing sociomaterial accomplishment. We identify four new managerial practices required in flexible offices to achieve situated ordering, namely materializing new homes, sustaining closeness, reproducing alignment and keeping performance under control. Taken together, these practices reveal how managerial work changes when its place is altered, elucidating why such alterations create more work for managers. In doing so, our study addresses why and how place matters for managerial work.