Behavior Concerning Choosing Workstations in Non-territorial Offices

Abstract

This paper attempts to clarify how employees choose individual workstations in a non-territorial office, in which they may locate themselves anywhere as they wish. The authors ascertained the preference of employees with regard to the positions of their workstations and the consistency of choosing the same workstations. The results are as follows: for all the investigated employees, there was a tendency to choose workstations that were adjacent to the main corridors and close to the meeting corners. More than 70% of the employees either chose the same workstation every time or nearly every time. In total, 90% of the employees were found to locate in the same or in adjacent areas. Analysis by group showed that while employees in the engineering groups, the renovation design group (Architecture Group 3), and the competition team were inclined to locate in specific areas and use such areas consistently, employees in the other architecture groups were much more open to choosing workstations far away from each other. Further, the analysis showed that leaders were inclined to occupy workstations beside the main corridor in the center of the office while ordinary staff members preferred workstations near the entrance.