1 Activity-Based Workplace Design

Activity-Based Workplace Design: An Australian Perspective The University of New South Wales Dissertation submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Built Environment Simon Theresianto Supervisor: Sing D'Arcy Co-supervisor: Judith O'Callaghan December 2017 1 3 ORIGINALITY STATEMENT ‘I hereby declare that this submission is my own work and to the best of my knowledge it contains no materials previously published or written by another person, or substantial proportions of material which have been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma at UNSW or any other educational institution, except where due acknowledgement is made in the thesis. Any contribution made to the research by others, with whom I have worked at UNSW or elsewhere, is explicitly acknowledged in the thesis. I also declare that the intellectual content of this thesis is the product of my own work, except to the extent that assistance from others in the project's design and conception or in style, presentation and linguistic expression is acknowledged.’ Signed …………………………………………….............. Date …………………………………………….............. COPYRIGHT STATEMENT ‘I hereby grant the University of New South Wales or its agents the right to archive and to make available my thesis or dissertation in whole or part in the University libraries in all forms of media, now or here after known, subject to the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968. I retain all proprietary rights, such as patent rights. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis or dissertation. I also authorise University Microfilms to use the 350 word abstract of my thesis in Dissertation Abstract International (this is applicable to doctoral theses only). I have either used no substantial portions of copyright material in my thesis or I have obtained permission to use copyright material; where permission has not been granted I have applied/will apply for a partial restriction of the digital copy of my thesis or dissertation.' Signed ……………………………………………........................... Date ……………………………………………........................... AUTHENTICITY STATEMENT ‘I certify that the Library deposit digital copy is a direct equivalent of the final officially approved version of my thesis. No emendation of content has occurred and if there are any minor variations in formatting, they are the result of the conversion to digital format.’ Signed ……………………………………………........................... Date ……………………………………………........................... Abstract Activity-based working (ABW) refers to office design theories that are meant to optimise workspace efficiency by providing multiple workspaces for a specific work function, and eliminate the personal cubicle in favour for functional spaces, leading to improved productivity. Rather than employees ‘owning’ spaces, they are free to move between spaces to carry out workplace tasks. Since its inception in the early 1990s, ABW has been implemented worldwide, however, the approach has experienced interpretations in the way it has been implemented. ABW was focused on Europe, and has quickly been adopted by large Australian corporations in their recent office designs, such as the Commonwealth Bank. ABW is being embraced due to its innovativeness (fostering cooperation and creativity) and ability to bring high levels of accountability to employees, prompting alleviation of supervisory burden. The adoption of ABW in Australia is relatively new and the study illustrates how ABW has evolved within Australia, where it has been adopted and how it reflects established practice in Europe. The literature review identified five major characteristics of ABW: non -assigned seating, variety of work spaces, flexibility of work spaces, breakout spaces, and flexibility of future fit out. The study quantitatively evaluated 60 companies located in Australia that have introduced ABW designs within their workspaces to determine the adoption level. Out of these 60 companies, five companies, NAB, BHP, Woods Bagot, Fujitsu, and GPT Group were selected for a qualitative analysis. It was found all companies had similar approaches to ABW design. The research study found that all the analysed companies adopted all five, or most of the five, characteristics of ABW. 2 Table of Contents List of Figures ................................................................................................................................................... 6 Chapter 1: Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 9 1.1. Overview ................................................................................................................................................ 9 1.2. Research Aims and Objectives .............................................................................................................. 11 1.2.1. Research Aims ............................................................................................................................... 11 1.2.2. Research Objectives ....................................................................................................................... 11 1.3. Research Questions ............................................................................................................................... 12 1.5. Overview of the Chapter Structure of the Study ..................................................................................... 12 1.5.1. Chapter 1: Introduction ................................................................................................................... 12 1.5.2. Chapter 2: Methodology ................................................................................................................. 12 1.5.3. Chapter 3: Origins of ABW ............................................................................................................ 12 1.5.4. Chapter 4: ABW in Australia .......................................................................................................... 12 1.5.5. Chapter 5: ABW Design Application in Australia ........................................................................... 12 1.5.6. Chapter 6: ABW Case Study Analysis ............................................................................................ 13 1.5.7. Chapter 7: Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 13 Chapter 2: Methodology .................................................................................................................................. 14 2.1. Introduction .......................................................................................................................................... 14 2.2. Theoretical Framework ......................................................................................................................... 14 2.2.1. Organisational Theory .................................................................................................................... 14 2.2.2. Knowledge Management Theory .................................................................................................... 15 2.2.3. Human Identity Theory in Relation to the Workplace ...................................................................... 15 2.2.4. Demographics of Workplace Changes ............................................................................................ 16 2.3. Methodological Framework ................................................................................................................... 16 2.5. Research Design .................................................................................................................................... 17 2.6. Data Collection ..................................................................................................................................... 18 3 2.7. Data Analysis ........................................................................................................................................ 19 2.7.1. Quantitative Data Analysis ............................................................................................................. 19 2.7.2. Qualitative Data Analysis ............................................................................................................... 19 2.8. Justification of Research ........................................................................................................................ 19 2.9. Chapter Summary ................................................................................................................................. 20 Chapter 3: The Origins of ABW ....................................................................................................................... 21 3.1. Introduction .......................................................................................................................................... 21 3.2. Taylorism – Systematisation of the Workplace ...................................................................................... 21 3.3. Post-World War II – Corporatisation of the Workplace .......................................................................... 24 3.4. Bürolandschaft and the Late 20 th Century ............................................................................................. 26 3.5.

Load more