Influence of activity-based office environments on perceived individual and group creativity

Abstract

This study examined the impact of activity-based offices (ABOs) on individual and group creativity from the employees' perspective. The study was investigated in two stages to find the link between ABOs and the concept of creative spaces, and also to identify and examine mediating variables in this relationship. In the first stage, a qualitative approach was adopted and the critical incident technique was used to collect data from 50 knowledge workers through interviews. Participant observation methods were also conducted for the case studies of three ABOs. In the second stage, a quantitative approach was adopted to collect data from a total of 186 knowledge workers in two international companies based in Sweden. The mixed methods approach was used to triangulate the data from the two stages. The two sets of data were merged by combining the different findings in the section on practical relevance and suggestions for improving environmental designers’ and facility managers’ understanding to manipulate ABO spaces to promote creativity in the workplace. The results showed that privacy, noise levels, and distraction-free environments were the most important factors in fostering individual employee creativity, as were open spaces with zones for different noise levels and private enclosed spaces. For group creativity, the importance of providing appropriate equipment and furniture in ABOs was observed - collaborative and disengaged spaces were found to be the most recurring spaces for group creativity. In addition, employee preferences were found to be an important component to consider when looking at environmental features, space types, and types of creative activities in creativity-enhancing ABOs. Using regression with bootstrapping for quantitative data, it is found that job autonomy and organizational commitment serially mediate this relationship. Study results suggest that organizations with ABOs exert on employees a sense of control over their work, leading them to feel more committed to their organization and consequently improving creativity in the group.