Det blir allt vanligare i Sverige att företag och organisationer lämnar enskilda kontorsrum för att övergå till kontorslandskap. Tidigare forskning visar att trivseln hos de anställda ofta minskar vid denna typ av förändring och att det kan ge både positiva och negativa konsekvenser för organisationens produktivitet. Det finns enligt tidigare forskning vinster i att anställda blir delaktiga vid organisationsförändringar för att behålla god produktivitet och trivsel. Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka hur trivsel hos kontorsanställda upplevs i kontorslandskap samt om trivsel och produktivitet påverkas på grund av förändrad kontorstyp.  Vi har i vår studie undersökt hur produktivitet och upplevelsen av trivsel förändrats hos handläggare och utredare på Försäkringskassans Nationella Försäkringscenter (NFC) i Visby. Denna statliga organisation valdes då de våren 2013 bytte kontorstyp från egna kontor till kontorslandskap. Tre enheter på NFC i Visby valdes att ingå i studien utifrån att ärendehanteringen av dessa enheters ärendeslag var relativt snabb.  Som undersökningsmetoder för denna fallstudie använde vi oss av produktivitetsmätning, enkätundersökning och observationer. Produktivitet mättes i studien genom statistik över handläggares och utredares avslutade ärenden. Mätningen gjordes genom att de anställdas produktivitet över fyra veckor 2012 jämfördes med fyra veckor 2013 för de tre utvalda enheterna på NFC i Visby. Trivseln undersöktes genom en webbenkät, som skickades ut till samtliga handläggare och utredare på de tre enheterna. Anledningen till detta var att få en uppfattning hur de anställdas trivsel förändrats i och med byte av kontorstyp. Observationer användes för att kunna beskriva det nya kontorets utformning och för att få en djupare förståelse av de anställdas uppfattningar om den nya arbetsplatsen.  Ingen signifikant skillnad i produktiviteten kunde påvisas vid mätning av genomsnittsproduktion under fyra veckor. Vi kunde dock inte utifrån resultatet i denna studie utesluta att förändring av konstorstyp påverkade produktiviteten på grund av otillräckligt underlag för mätning. Enkätsvaren visade att trivseln för deltagarna i studien efter byte till kontorslandskap hade minskat i jämförelse med arbete i egna kontorsrum. Störst försämring som deltagarna upplevde var förändringen av arbetsplatsens geografiska läge. Många deltagare upplevde även försämring i den fysiska miljön som belysning, temperatur, ljud och rörelser i kontorslandskapet efter flytt till kontorslandskap. Faktorer som arbetsrelaterat stöd och hjälp från kollegor och chef hade inte förändrats signifikant men deltagarna upplevde att det personliga stödet från kollegor hade minskat. Det framkom även att deltagarna upplevde en minskad integritet och ökad känsla av att bli kontrollerad. Ytterligare slutsatser dragna från studien visade även att brist på delaktighet kunde bidra till minskad upplevelse av trivsel och minskad produktivitet.  Avslutningsvis lämnas förslag till fortsatt forskning om hur produktivitet och trivsel förändras på lång sikt orsakat av byte av kontortypen. Kunskap inom detta område kan bidra till strategiska verktyg för planering av kontorstyper som ger både hög produktivitet och trivsel hos de anställda. / It is more and more common in Sweden for companies and organizations to switch from cell offices to open plan office. Previous research shows that job satisfaction among employees often reduces. This change of office type can provide both positive and negative effects for organizational productivity. The purpose of this study was to investigate how job satisfaction and productivity is affected due to the changed type of office. We investigated how productivity and job satisfaction were affected for employees at the Swedish Social Insurance Agency National Center (NFC) in Visby who made this type of organizational change. Conclusions in the study showed that job satisfaction for the participants after switching to open plan office had decreased in comparison with working in cell offices. No significant differences in productivity were measured. We cannot from the results of this study exclude the possibility that changes of the office type affects productivity due to inadequate basis for measurement we used. Knowledge in this area may contribute to the strategic tool for planning an office type that provides high productivity and job satisfaction for employees.

Arbetet omfattar två delar. Den första delen kommer att fokusera på den kommunikationsprocess som genomfördes under projekttiden för Malmö universitets byggnad Niagara samt de kommunikationsverktyg som nyttjades i kommunikationsprocessen. Den andra delen handlar om hur resultatet blev efter bytet av kontorstyp, personalens upplevelser och påverkan av arbetsmiljön. För att undersöka detta gjordes en fallstudie av byggnaden Niagara på Malmö universitet. Studien visar även hur kommunikationen såg ut under projekttiden, d.v.s. från arkitekttävlingens start 2009 till invigningen 2015. En litteraturstudie har pågått under arbetets gång och legat som grund till framtagning av relevanta intervjufrågor och har även används för att styrka och belysa aspekter som behandlas i diskussionen. För att få ett övergripande sammanhang användes flera metoder för att ge en mer rättvisande grund för analysen under den belysta tidsperioden, dessa var: enkätundersökningar, intervju och offentliga dokument.Resultatet visar att ett skifte mellan olika kontorstyper tar lång tid att organisera för att behålla en välfungerande arbetsmiljö. Det finns ingen mall för valet av kontorstyp utan det bör anpassas till den verksamhet som använder den, eftersom arbetsuppgifterna spelar stor roll för hur arbetsmiljön bör utformas. Arbetsmiljöns utformning påverkar hur kommunikationen sker, där fysiska förhållanden som privat eller publik tillgänglighet, rumslig öppenhet och avskildhet samt psykosociala förhållanden som samarbete, sociala kontakter och hälsa, spelar roll. Öppna kontorsmiljöer bygger på digitalisering, där material sparas elektroniskt och utrymmet för analog förvaring försvåras. Den akademiska världen verkar inte vara helt mottaglig för ett papperslöst utvecklingsskede än. / This study contains two parts. The first part will focus on the communication process that were present during the project period for the Malmö University building Niagara and the communication tools that were used in the communication process. The second part is about the result that the office type change brought, the staff experiences and the impact of the work environment. To investigate this, a case study of the Niagara building was made at Malmö University. The study also shows how communication looked like during the project period, i.e. from the start of the architectural competition in 2009 to the opening of 2015.A literature study has been ongoing during the course of the work and has been the basis for the development of relevant interview questions and has also been used to strengthen and highlight aspects discussed in the discussion. To get an overall context, several methods were used to provide a more accurate basis for the analysis during the illuminated period of time, such as: surveys, interview and public documents.The result shows that a shift, between different office types, takes a long time to organize to be able to maintain a well-functioning work environment. There is no template for the choice of office type, but it should be adapted to the activity that uses it, as the tasks play a major role in the way the work environment should be designed. The design of the work environment affects how communication takes place, where physical conditions such as private or public accessibility, spatial openness and seclusion and psychosocial conditions such as cooperation, social contracts and health, play a role. Open office environments are based on digitalization, where materials are stored electronically and the space for analog storage gets aggravated. The academic world does not seem to be completely receptive to a paperless development stage yet.

This study examines how a pleasent office can be designed to promote health, well-being and work efficiency. The study aims to provide office workers with an insight into their work situation and how it affects them. Also how companies, thru architectural- and design features can create a supportive office environment.  The study adresses the following questions: "What qualitites in architecture and interior design are the most important for good health, well-being and work efficiency at an office?" and "Which office type is the most preferable according to the results of the study?".  Based on the implemented theory, survey and interview, the study identifies the modern cell office with a permanent workplace as the most adventageous type. Additionally, the hybrid office with cell office influences combined with a permanent workplace is an advantageous type in relation to good health, well-being and work efficiency. An example of an office has been created where the highest grade possible is achieved. This from a rating template that is based on the results of the study. Designing an office is a complex task that requires fulfilment of various aspects to reach a good grade and therefore, a pleasant office.

This doctoral thesis examines the office environment’s influence on employees’ perception oftheir workplaces, their organizations and their job satisfaction, as well as their health and wellbeing.It is based on an empirical study of 491 office employees from twenty-six companies anddivisions in large companies. Seven office types, defined by their architectural and functionalfeatures, are represented in the study group: cell-office, shared-room office, small open planoffice, medium-sized open plan office, large open plan office, flex-office and combi-office. Theresearch has its basis in architecture, although an interdisciplinary approach using organizationaland management theory, environmental psychology, and social and stress medicine has beenemployed. Qualitative (Articles I &amp; V) and quantitative methods(Articles II &amp; IV) were used.The thesis also contains an explorative, review article. Thus it comprises all in all five articles.Article I is an analysis of the importance of architectural quality for employees´ perceptionand experience of the office using Lynch’s method (1960) developed to measure inhabitants’perception of architectural quality in cities. The study shows that in the office the experienceto a high degree is independent of both the scale of the office and office type; instead it isdetermined by the quality of the plan layout combined with the quality of other design features.It also shows Lynch’s method to be useful in foreseeing where the elements that reinforce‘imageability’ will most likely appear in an office environment.Article II investigates employees’ environmental satisfaction focusing on:1) ambient factors; 2) noise and privacy; and 3) design-related factors. The results, based onregression models with age, gender, job rank and line of business as additional covariates,show office type as a factor with a statistically significant impact on satisfaction with the officeenvironment. Employees in cell-offices are prominently most satisfied, followed by those inflex-offices, cell-offices rate low only on social aspects of design-related factors. A major findingis the internal differences between office types where employees share workspace and facilitieswith lowest satisfaction in medium-sized and large open plan offices.Article III is a review article that analyzes the employees’ office experiences in two ways:1) by framing the physical work environment’s influence on employees into the model oforganizational theorist Davis (1994); and 2) by categorizing the office experience into twogroups based on the nature of the experience and problems related to them. The results of theemperical study presented in Article II are the basis for the discussion in this article.Article IV examines employees’ health, well-being and job satisfaction. A multivariateanalysis applied to the study sample and equivalent to that of Article II shows significantly higherrisks for ill health and poor well-being in medium-sized and small open plan offices, comparedespecially with cell-office. In medium-sized open plan and combi-offices the employees evincethe lowest job satisfaction. The best chance for good health status and job satisfaction is in cellofficesand flex-offices.Article V examines the office architecture´s importance for employees’ perception of theirown workplaces and organizations based on the two key components of architecture—theaesthetical and functional dimensions. The results show that overall the employees had positiveexperiences of their office environments. These mainly concerned the aesthetical dimension,whereas the negative comments dealt with the functional dimension. The aesthetical dimensionappears not only to set the agenda for employees’ perception of the workplace and organizationas a whole, but also for the perception of the functional dimensions. The functional dimensionswere only in focus when the workstation and its proximate area were discussed. / <p>QC 20100908</p>

<p>The present thesis investigates environmental factors impact on office employees. More specifically, it investigates: 1) perception and experience of office environments, 2) satisfaction with office environments, and 3) health status and job satisfaction in connection to office environment. It is based on an empirical study with 491 office employees from twenty-six companies and divisions in larger companies. Each one respectively represents one of seven identified office-types in office design: cell-office, sharedroom office, small open plan office, medium open plan office, large open plan office, flex-office and combi-office. This study takes its basis in architecture, although an interdisciplinary approach from organizational and management theory, environmental psychology, and social and stress medicine has been used. Qualitative and quantitative methods were used.</p><p> In Article I a review of the different research fields that investigate environmental influences are presented with a focus on office environments. Different perspectives on the environmental impact on office employees are investigated.</p><p>In Article II an analysis of office environment based on the employee’s perception and experience of the architecture is done based on in-depth interviews using a method originally developed by Kevin Lynch (1960). The method measures the "imagebility" of a space, rated by the users with following elements: landmark, node, path, edge and district. The result showed that the method, based on employees’ perception and use of space, is a possible tool in the design process to get a better understanding of where the elements that reinforce "imageability" most likely will appear in an office environment. The method thus gives a better idea of the future "imageability" of a space and could be useful as guidance in the design process of how the architectural design will be received by the users in the end.</p><p>In Article III employees’ satisfaction with the office environment in different office-types is investigated. The article focuses on three domains: 1) Ambient factors, 2) Noise and Privacy and 3) Designrelated factors. The statistical analysis was done using a logistic regression model with multivariate analysis. Adjustment was done for: age, gender, job rank, job satisfaction and market division. The results show differences in satisfaction with the office environment between employees in different office-types, many of which were statistically significant. When differences persist in the multivariate analysis they can possibly be ascribed to the office-type. Results show that employees in cell-offices are prominently most satisfied followed by those in flex-offices. Cell-offices rate only low on social aspects of Design-related factors. A major finding is internal differences between different office-types where employees share workspace and facilities. The medium and large open plan offices could be described as high-risk officetypes.</p><p>In Article IV differences between employees in different office-types with regard to health, wellbeing and job satisfaction are analyzed. A multivariate analysis of the data was done with adjustment for the confounders: age, gender, job rank and market division. The results show that there are risks of ill health and poor well-being in medium and small open plan offices. Employees in these office-types show significantly higher risks compared with those in other office-types. In medium open plan and combioffices the employees show the highest prevalence of low job satisfaction. The best chance for good health status and job satisfaction is among employees in cell-offices and flex-offices; there are, however, internal differences in distribution on different outcome variables for job satisfaction. The major finding of these studies is that there are significant differences with regard to satisfaction with office environments as well as health status and job satisfaction between employees in different office-types; differences that can possibly can be ascribed to the office-types as they persist after adjustment for important confounders.</p>

The present thesis investigates environmental factors impact on office employees. More specifically, it investigates: 1) perception and experience of office environments, 2) satisfaction with office environments, and 3) health status and job satisfaction in connection to office environment. It is based on an empirical study with 491 office employees from twenty-six companies and divisions in larger companies. Each one respectively represents one of seven identified office-types in office design: cell-office, sharedroom office, small open plan office, medium open plan office, large open plan office, flex-office and combi-office. This study takes its basis in architecture, although an interdisciplinary approach from organizational and management theory, environmental psychology, and social and stress medicine has been used. Qualitative and quantitative methods were used. In Article I a review of the different research fields that investigate environmental influences are presented with a focus on office environments. Different perspectives on the environmental impact on office employees are investigated. In Article II an analysis of office environment based on the employee’s perception and experience of the architecture is done based on in-depth interviews using a method originally developed by Kevin Lynch (1960). The method measures the "imagebility" of a space, rated by the users with following elements: landmark, node, path, edge and district. The result showed that the method, based on employees’ perception and use of space, is a possible tool in the design process to get a better understanding of where the elements that reinforce "imageability" most likely will appear in an office environment. The method thus gives a better idea of the future "imageability" of a space and could be useful as guidance in the design process of how the architectural design will be received by the users in the end. In Article III employees’ satisfaction with the office environment in different office-types is investigated. The article focuses on three domains: 1) Ambient factors, 2) Noise and Privacy and 3) Designrelated factors. The statistical analysis was done using a logistic regression model with multivariate analysis. Adjustment was done for: age, gender, job rank, job satisfaction and market division. The results show differences in satisfaction with the office environment between employees in different office-types, many of which were statistically significant. When differences persist in the multivariate analysis they can possibly be ascribed to the office-type. Results show that employees in cell-offices are prominently most satisfied followed by those in flex-offices. Cell-offices rate only low on social aspects of Design-related factors. A major finding is internal differences between different office-types where employees share workspace and facilities. The medium and large open plan offices could be described as high-risk officetypes. In Article IV differences between employees in different office-types with regard to health, wellbeing and job satisfaction are analyzed. A multivariate analysis of the data was done with adjustment for the confounders: age, gender, job rank and market division. The results show that there are risks of ill health and poor well-being in medium and small open plan offices. Employees in these office-types show significantly higher risks compared with those in other office-types. In medium open plan and combioffices the employees show the highest prevalence of low job satisfaction. The best chance for good health status and job satisfaction is among employees in cell-offices and flex-offices; there are, however, internal differences in distribution on different outcome variables for job satisfaction. The major finding of these studies is that there are significant differences with regard to satisfaction with office environments as well as health status and job satisfaction between employees in different office-types; differences that can possibly can be ascribed to the office-types as they persist after adjustment for important confounders. / QC 20101126

Today, many organisations are adopting offices that have an open design with or without flexible seating. While advocates of open-plan offices propose that these office types lead to cost savings and aid inter and intra-team communication, opponents argue that these office types are associated with decreased performance and worsened health among employees. This thesis investigates how the type of office (cell offices, shared room offices, small open-plan offices, medium-sized open plan offices, large open-plan offices and flex offices) influences employee health and performance, and whether this is different for different personalities and jobs with different concentration demands. Data were gathered by means of surveys and cognitive tests from five organisations with different office types. In Study I (N=1241), the aim was to investigate the main effect of office type on indicators of health and performance and the interaction effect of office type with the need to concentrate in order to carry out work tasks. Office type alone was associated with distraction and cognitive stress in such a way that cell offices were associated with fewest problems, followed by flex offices, while open-plan offices were associated with the most problems. While employees in open-plan offices and employees in flex offices reported more problems as the need for concentration increased, employees in cell offices reported the same level of problems regardless of the need of concentration. Study II (N=527) investigated how performance on a memory test was affected during normal working conditions as compared to a quiet baseline. There was a negative dose-response relationship between the size of the open-plan office environment and the drop in word recall during the normal working condition. However, Study II also showed that individuals working in cell offices had as high a drop in performance during normal working conditions as did those working in large open-plan office environments. Study III (N=1133–1171) focused on the interaction effect between office type and individual differences in personality. The personality trait agreeableness interacted with office type on the outcome variables distraction and job satisfaction. Specifically, Study III may indicate that as offices get more open and flexible, agreeable people will report more problems. In conclusion, the studies in the present thesis have implications for practice and suggest that office type impacts on employee health and performance, while concentration demands of the job and agreeableness moderate the effects. Although employees report higher level of distraction in open-plan office environments, when performance on a demanding task is measured, cell offices are not as favourable during normal working conditions as self-reported data usually indicate. Organisations should also be aware that, among open-plan offices, small open-plan offices are associated with fewer problems. / Kontorslandskap med eller utan fasta arbetsstationer förekommer idag i många organisationer. Förespråkare för kontorslandskap hänvisar till kostnadsbesparing samt förbättrade förutsättningar för kommunikation, medan motståndare hävdar att kontorslandskap leder till försämrad prestation och hälsa bland medarbetarna. Denna avhandling undersöker om kontorstyp påverkar de anställdas hälsa och prestation, samt om effekten av kontorstyp varierar beroende på de anställdas personlighet och typ av arbetsuppgifter. Data i form av enkätsvar och prestation på kognitiva tester samlades in från fem organisationer med olika typer av kontorslösningar (cellkontor, delade kontorsrum, små kontorslandskap, mellanstora kontorslandskap, stora kontorslandskap och flexkontor). I studie I (N = 1241) var syftet att undersöka huvudeffekten av kontorstyp på indikatorer för hälsa och prestation samt om effekten är beroende av koncentrationskraven i arbetet. Kontorstyp visade samband med distraktion och kognitiv stress på så sätt att medarbetare i cellkontor uppgav minst problem, följt av de i flexkontor, medan kontorslandskap var förknippade med mer problem. Vidare rapporterade anställda som hade arbetsuppgifter som krävde koncentration mer problem i kontorslandskap och flexkontor, medan anställda i cellkontor, oavsett arbetets krav, rapporterade lika mycket problem. I studie II (N = 527) undersöktes hur prestation på ett minnestest påverkades under normala arbetsförhållanden jämfört med en tyst referensmätning i olika kontorstyper. Det fanns ett negativt dos-responssamband mellan storleken på kontorslandskapet och hur många procent sämre medarbetare presterade under normala arbetsförhållanden. Men Studie II visade också att personer som arbetar i cellkontor hade ett lika högt bortfall i prestation under normala arbetsförhållanden som de som arbetade i stora kontorslandskap. I studie III (N = 1133-1171) låg fokus på interaktionseffekten mellan kontorstyp och personlighet. Vänlighet var den enda personlighetsvariabeln som interagerade med kontorstyp på utfallsvariablerna distraktion och arbetstillfredsställelse. Mer specifikt visade Studie III att när kontoret blir mer öppet och flexibelt, så rapporterar människor som skattar sig högt på personlighetsvariabeln vänlighet fler problem. Resultaten i avhandlingen kan få flera praktiska implikationer då den visar att kontorstyp påverkar medarbetarnas hälsa och prestation, medan koncentrationskrävande arbetsuppgifter och vänlighet modererar effekterna. Vidare visar avhandlingen att även om anställda rapporterar mindre distraktion i cellkontor jämfört med i kontorslandskap, behöver inte cellkontor vara lika gynnsamma som självskattade mått visar när prestationen mäts med objektiva mått under normala arbetsförutsättningar, i det här fallet ett minnestest. Slutligen bör organisationer även vara medvetna om att avhandlingen visar en viss tendens att små kontorslandskap är förknippade med mindre problem än stora. / <p>At the time of the doctoral defense, the following paper was unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 3: Manuscript.</p>