# Workspace and Productivity: Guidelines for Virtual Reality Workplace Design and Optimization
## 1 Introduction
As shown in early anthropology and communication studies, defining and organizing spaces, such as intimate, social, and public spaces, and enabling productive teamwork and task work, has shown to vary significantly, depending on the cultural context, such as employees' cultural backgrounds and social settings [15; 16]. These shifts in spatial design, as well as increases in cultural awareness, are particularly relevant for working in VR [2]. VR can support demands for interactions, collaboration, and knowledge sharing while still addressing individual workstyle needs, minimizing distraction, and decreasing crowding [17]. As an adaptable workspace, it can offer spaces and interior features designed for different work activities [17], acknowledge employees' cultural diversity and differing communication styles, and, in doing so, effectively improve productivity and wellbeing. At present, however, only a few studies investigated office design and productivity in the context of VR. It is known that immersive VR environments can significantly impact perceived vitality, stress [18], and mood [19; 20], while simple changes in environmental features such as the colors of the walls as well as room temperature do not have such effects [21]. The latter has been addressed with a particular focus on productivity, suggesting a more nuanced interaction between productivity and the environment provided in VR; with future studies being advised to consider behavioral and cognitive components such as personalized solo productivity versus shared space for collaborative team/task work, and effective time and contingent planning through smart notification management to enable effective synchronous and asynchronous work arrangements [22]. A more recent study [23] evaluated physical offices (open or closed office) versus VR offices (beach or virtual office) and addressed differences in performance (navigation task) and attitudes (flow, VR vs. no VR preference), showing that the physical, closed office and the beach VR were similarly ranked in reducing distraction and inducing flow, and that these two environments are preferred over the non-VR open office and VR open office environments. However, limitations due to study design (e.g., study duration, task characteristics, and novelty effects) make it difficult to generalize the findings in relation to real-life workplaces, teams, and task characteristics [23]. With this in mind, the aim of this study was to make an important step in enhancing the usability of (matured) VR [24]. Based on user experience analysis methods, this study sought to trace performance, verify the completion of the tasks, and improve the organization of the (virtual) workplace, by providing insights, guidelines, and implications in relation to user experience and human-computer interaction design. This was achieved by (i) conducting expert interviews to gain a perspective on how workplace design can affect collaboration, productivity, and work satisfaction; (ii) exploring design and environmental features for virtual knowledge workers as well as those working in open, closed, and balanced offices, through the lens of ethnographic research and interviews; (iii) surveying knowledge workers using VR for solo, teamwork and task work activities, in order to understand the nature and importance of VR environments and customization. Based on these findings, we developed an \"Ecology of Work\" model, which features the work systems and pillars of performance success, followed by design guidelines for environments in VR.