Mary Kaaria’s thesis investigated how office work practices shape and are shaped by the office setup, offering insights into the dynamic relationship between work activities and the physical environment in which they unfold. Conducted in Kenya, the research applies social practice theory to conceptualize office work as a social activity influenced by both organizational norms and individual worker preferences. The research sought to address three key questions: (i) What determines where and when office work practices are enacted? (ii) How do office work practices interconnect and terminate, and what informs the selection and arrangement of objects used to support or…

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…

Alice Paola Pomè dissertation “In-use Offices and Ecological Footprint: A calculation model to measure the effects of human occupation and behaviour on environmental sustainability” develops a calculation model to measure and manage environmental sustainability in office buildings. The PhD research specifically explores the implementation of sustainable development principles within office building management practices. Through an examination of sustainability practices in the construction sector and the impact of user behaviours on management, the research theories a model based on a sustainability indicator known as the Ecological Footprint. To achieve the following objectives: (i) identify the best indicator to express the effects…

Alessandra Migliore’s dissertation “In search of an alternative workspace: Disclosing academics’ spatial practices and productivity within and beyond the campus” explores academic workspaces. Specifically, this PhD research explores academics’ spatial practices for research on- and off-campus and the role of the physical workspaces in influencing the choice to work either on- or off-campus, stimulating academic productivity, and shaping the academic work experience. The research aimed at (a) identifying academics’ location choices for research activities among university, home, and other third spaces; (b) measuring the effects of these location choices on- and off-campus on academic productivity; and (c) understanding key spatial…

Lisanne Bergefurt’s dissertation “The physical workplace as a resource for mental health” aimed to provide holistic insights in the relationships between the physical office-and home-workplace characteristics and mental health. Using a mixed-method approach, with systematic literature reviews, cross-sectional data analyses, a virtual reality experiment, and a field experiment, these insights were obtained. The dissertation initially introduces ten indicators of mental health, representing a range of short-term, transient, to long-term, chronic consequences, and from negative to positive feelings and states. Systematic literature reviews show that for both the office and the home, most research has focused on indoor environmental quality (IEQ)…

Victor Cabral’s dissertation “A look inside the coworking space. The social and entrepreneurial relevance of new flexible office space environments.” is a research project that aimed at opening the ‘black box’ of coworking spaces in order to gain a more in-depth understanding of what coworking spaces are and what they provide their tenants. The data for this project, which focused particularly on coworking spaces in Amsterdam, was collected through semi-structured interviews and observations, as well as through content analysis of coworking space websites and of chat applications of coworking communities. A key finding of this project is the importance of…

Research has shown that breastfeeding has important long-term health effects on both children and mothers. The World Health Organization recommends that children are exclusively breastfed for the first six months of life and that breastfeeding is continued thereafter, alongside complementary feeding, until children are at least two years old. However, many mothers experience problems with breastfeeding and stop earlier than they would like. A major reason why women stop prematurely is the often-difficult combination of breastfeeding and work. In this dissertation Sjoukje van Dellen studied what organizations can do to support breastfeeding employees, both before the return to work and…

Antonio Cobaleda Cordero´s research focus on the experiences of users with flexible offices because to understand the influences that the design qualities of office artefacts and spaces have on such experiences, as well as their design implications. The research angle adopted builds on a UX theoretical background and a practical approach with multiple user studies in real office environments. The findings show that user experiences with flexible offices are influenced by interrelated design qualities of the spaces and artefacts in use, rather than isolated qualities. These (tangible and intangible) qualities define the nature of an artefact, a space, or constellations…

Niina Andrade-Asikainen’s dissertation “Supporting well-being in workplace transformations – Critical Sociomaterial components and their evaluation in a knowledge-intensive organization” identifies the success factors of workplace change in a longitudinal case study. The findings build on survey data complemented by observations, interviews, and document analysis. The data is analyzed abductively from the perspectives of managers, employees, workspace experts, and the researcher. The dissertation contributes to workplace research by demonstrating that three key mechanisms drive and impact employee experiences and the success or failure of the entire transformation already from the preparation phase of the workplace transformation. These mechanisms are the expected…