Communication behavior and space utilization of office workers in a research facility's activity-based workplace

Abstract

This study explores the pre- and post-renovation differences in communication behaviors of office workers at a construction company's research facility that had carried out renovations to promote open innovation through internal and external interactions. We conducted an analysis by combining both objective survey of conversation time, conversation partners, and stay location information using sensing terminals and subjective evaluations by office workers using a questionnaire survey. As the work style transitioned from fixed seats pre-renovation to activity-based working post-renovation, the attendance rate analysis around each worker's personal workspace throughout the measurement period decreased from 74% to 60%, and the tendency to use various places in the office increased. Additionally, the number of conversation partners increased by 1.9 times on average and inter-department conversation rate increased from 46% to 53% when activity-based working was performed post-renovation. However, while the introduction of activity-based working significantly increased the level of communication satisfaction among workers in other departments, it tended to decrease the level of communication satisfaction within a department. This study maintains that organizational and operational efforts must sustain and promote intra-departmental communication when activity-based working is introduced and confirms that the introduction of activity-based working was effective in promoting interaction between office workers.