Implementing an activity-based work environment: A longitudinal view of the effects on privacy and psychological ownership

Abstract

The increasing popularity of activity-based work environments has led to concerns regarding lower employee privacy and psychological ownership. Using a longitudinal field survey, we attempt to capture how implementing an activity-based work environment impacts perceived privacy and psychological ownership—and potential employee adjustment over time. We further consider employee attitude towards activity-based work as a moderator. Consistent with past results, our findings indicate that implementing activity-based work environments can negatively affect employee privacy and psychological ownership. We do not find support for differences between short-term and long-term effects. However, employee attitude towards activity-based work emerges as a potentially important moderator that may offset the adverse effects of activity-based work environments. Implications of these findings for organizations and directions for future research are discussed.