Maria Gaudiino’s dissertation “From office spaces to office places: A psychological perspective on employees’ experience of the physical work environment” aimed to deepen the study and understanding of the employee experience in the workplace, contributing to prior research in two specific ways. First, regarding the theoretical positioning, the thesis adopted a clear psychological angle in investigating employees’ feelings and behavior at the workplace. Second, regarding the research method, the studies of this thesis were carried out consistently relying on a quantitative approach and applying different analytical strategies.
The doctoral dissertation included four studies which examine employees at the office under multiple perspectives, starting from a focus on the situational characteristics of the work environment, then delving into the psychological dimensions of office users, and concluding with a focus on social interactions in new work environments.
The first study examined a three-way interaction of switching frequency, task variety and autonomous motivation to switch on need-space fit in activity-based offices and how need-space fit relates with the outcomes of satisfaction with workspace, work engagement and perceived performance. Results supported the central hypothesis of the study and underscored the important role of task variety in perceptions of fit at in activity-based offices, with potential beneficial effects on employees and organizations.
The second study investigated the phenomena of personalization and psychological ownership at the workplace and introduced two key distinctions: one between self-oriented and group-oriented personalization and one between desk-based and office-based psychological ownership. Findings revealed that self-oriented personalization is associated with the number of days spent at the office via desk-based ownership and that group-oriented personalization is associated to both the number of days spent at the office and affective commitment via office-based ownership.
The third study focused on the “individual path” investigated in the second study (i.e., self-oriented personalization, desk-based psychological ownership, outcomes) and adopted a longitudinal design, thus allowing for an examination of the directionality of the relationship between personalization and psychological ownership. Results showed that preferred number of office days led to desk-based psychological ownership, which in turn led to self-oriented personalization. This study presented the first longitudinal test of the link between personalization and psychological ownership at the workplace, two phenomena that are playing a relevant role in the modern debate on future office.
The fourth study elaborated on the concept of psychological ownership including a focus on collective psychological ownership, linking this construct to social interactions in the workplace and work-related team outcomes, namely team performance and team creativity. Based on a multilevel approach, this study examined psychological ownership at the workplace at the individual and team level. At the individual level, office-based collective psychological ownership was positively related to frequency and quality of social interactions in the workplace, which were in turn positively related to both outcomes. At the team level, desk-based psychological ownership was negatively related to quality of social interactions at work. Frequency of social interactions was negatively related to the outcomes, while quality of social interactions was positively differently related to the outcomes. Findings provided empirical support to the important role of collective psychological ownership towards the workplace as possible facilitating factor of social interactions in the workplace.
In conclusion, Maria Gaudiino’s dissertation provides both theoretical and practical contributions to the field of workplace studies. Theoretically, the doctoral research sheds light on key aspects of the traditional and new features of the employee experience of the workspace (flexibility, territoriality, sense of ownership), employing well-established psychological theories (self-determination, person-environment fit, territorial behaviors, psychological ownership). In practice, the research findings encourage workplaces decision-makers and managers to (a) consider the fit between task and space when dealing with the transformation of the office environment; (b) aim at making a place out of a space, that is making the office a place employees can feel as their own rather than just an impersonal workspace; and (c) support the time employees spend together at the office.
The thesis is currently under embargo, thus access is limited for the time being.
Links to related published papers:
Gaudiino, M., Van den Broeck, A., & Verbruggen, M. (2023). The role of switching frequency, task variety and motivation in activity-based working: When does the switch fit? Journal of Environmental Psychology, 89, 102039. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2023.102039