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Olson Combined Dissertation 032716.pdf (2.53 MB)

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Experiential Workplace Design for Knowledge Work Organizations: A Worker Centered Approach

Olson, Branka V
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8815-8659
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1459278058

Abstract Details

2016, Doctor of Philosophy, Case Western Reserve University, Management.
The built environment can have a significant positive (or negative) effect on our work experience. At an individual level, we intuitively understand the effects of the physical space, but when we try to demonstrate the sources and types of effects, we are often unable to do so. This lack of evidence creates a divergence of opinion between management, workforce, and design professionals as to the value that workspace design adds to organizational success and why organizational leadership should invest in more mindful design of knowledge work environments. To address this problem of practice, an exploratory, multi-method series of three studies was conducted. The first study is qualitative in nature and explores how knowledge work organizations and design teams develop workspace design projects. The results reveal a divergence of vision, values, and vernacular amongst the actors in the initial design criteria-setting phase that obscures a unified problem definition resulting in disparate perceptions of workspace success. It also reveals that workers are not directly engaged in the process of determining the problem definition and design criteria. The second study evaluates workers’ perceived satisfaction with components of their workspace as predictors of their emotional and behavioral response to work. This quantitative study measures workers’ cognitive assessment of satisfaction with the components of their workspace and facilities and tests their predictive value on worker job engagement, job satisfaction and performance. The results demonstrate that workers’ satisfaction with components of the work environment do not predict the effects on the emotional states of workers. Thus, the study uncovers deeper issues involved in determining the effects of workspace on emotional and behavioral outcomes. A third study assesses the workers’ affective experience of the integral work environment on their emotional response to work. The results indicate an overwhelming effect of the experiential workplace on the emotional response of workers, including engagement. This set of three studies points towards a new paradigm for the methodology of workplace design project delivery by placing emphasis on the worker holistic, integral experience of the workplace. A new, emergent process model is proposed, which is worker centered, that establishes a clear relationship between the physical work environment and organizational performance outcomes.
Richard Boland (Committee Chair)
Somers Toni (Committee Member)
Laszlo Christopher (Committee Member)
Stephens John Paul (Committee Member)
190 p.
Architecture; Design; Experimental Psychology; Interior Design; Organizational Behavior
assimilative coherence; design problem definition; integral workplace; worker centered design

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Olson, B. V. (2016). Experiential Workplace Design for Knowledge Work Organizations: A Worker Centered Approach [Doctoral dissertation, Case Western Reserve University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1459278058

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Olson, Branka. Experiential Workplace Design for Knowledge Work Organizations: A Worker Centered Approach. 2016. Case Western Reserve University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1459278058.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Olson, Branka. "Experiential Workplace Design for Knowledge Work Organizations: A Worker Centered Approach." Doctoral dissertation, Case Western Reserve University, 2016. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1459278058

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

case1459278058
520
© 2016, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Case Western Reserve University School of Graduate Studies and OhioLINK.