title: The influence of changing work practices on the office setup
Creators: name: Kaaria, Mary Karimi
Publisher: name: University of Reading
Year: 2024

description: The office setup and everyday activities of office workers towards the accomplishment of 
office work may seem unchanging, but closer scrutiny reveals that the setups and work 
activities are dynamic and constantly evolving. While the organisational norms and standards 
guide the prefigured workspace, office workers adjust and reconfigure spaces as they seek to 
achieve the purpose of the work being accomplished while applying their individual 
preferences and choices. 
This study considers office work as a social practice and part of the everyday life of the office 
worker. It uses social practice theory as a lens to conceptualise and interpret office workers’ 
activities when accomplishing office work, and the role of the physical environment where 
work is performed. More particularly, the study uses the social practice theory concepts of 
meaning and materiality to interpret the relationship between the intentions of office 
workers and the physical environment in which office work is accomplished. 
To understand how office work shapes and is shaped by the office setup, the study 
investigates in depth what the office is for and what office workers do in the accomplishment 
of work. It uses the experiences of office workers in a situated case to investigate what 
comprises office work, how it is accomplished and the role of the office setup. It examines 
the influences of when and where office work is accomplished, how office work practices 
interconnect and terminate, and the influence of meaning on the spatial-temporal 
arrangement of the office setup. 
The ethnographic approach adopted in this research required the collection of data from 
office workers through in-depth participant observation, informal discussions, semi-structured interviews, photographs and sketches. Covid-19 mitigation measures were taken 
into consideration in the selection of research methods and during data collection resulting 
in redesign of the field research to a two-stage data collection to accommodate the physical 
interaction restrictions imposed by the Government of Kenya. The two stages data collection 
focused on the ‘doings’ and ‘sayings ’of the office workers at a micro level, the objects used, 
the purpose of their work and the arrangement of the setting in which the work was 
accomplished. In preparation for analysis, the data was arranged into four episodes: the 
preparation of the document, the informal unplanned meeting, the updating of the 
whiteboard and the formal planned meeting. 
Research on office environments has mainly focused on the global north, however, this study 
is carried out in Kenya providing new data on the office environments and office work in 
corporate organisations in the global south. Using her workplace as the research field, the 
researcher, draws from office workers’ experiences and provide fresh perspective on the how 
office workers exercise the preferences within existing organisational norms to modify their 
workspaces to meet their intentions. 
The study has found that office work practices are dynamic, with meaning, objects used and 
spatial-temporal arrangement of practices continually changing. While the prefigured setup 
is configured to enforce and communicate organisational norms, the readiness of the setup 
is influenced by its capability to support anticipated practices. In the quest for convenience, 
office workers negotiate priorities and exercise preferences by selecting the time and place 
of work according to their intentions. The findings show that meanings lent to practices arise
from, among others, the intentions of office workers as they comply with norms, achieve the 
purpose of their work and seek convenience. The adjustments of the setup were found to 
take place to accommodate the additional meanings arising from the office workers’ 
intentions. The quest for convenience was found to be central to the spatial-temporal 
arrangement of practices and the material arrangements supporting them. As office work 
unfolds, the readiness of the setup to fulfil office workers’ intentions is constantly tested and 
office workers adjust the setup to accommodate the convenience they seek. 
The study offers contributions to the fields of workplace design, facilities management, 
corporate real estate, and post-occupancy studies and is useful to office designers, corporate 
real estate managers and facilities managers seeking to enhance the office environment’s 
ability to support changing office work practices. By examining the complex ways in which 
office workers interact with their environments, the study emphasis the need for flexible 
office setups that are responsive to office worker preferences and the changing nature of 
office work. The study findings can be applied in designing for the evolving needs of workers 
and organizations, and management of existing workplaces. Further research is 
recommended on cross-cultural comparisons and the use of longitudinal approaches to study 
office work and office environments.