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An organizational perspective on creative environments. Anna Rylander, PhD Business & Design Lab, Gothenburg University. What is a creative environment? . People. Organization (social context). Workplace (physical context). What is a creative environment? . People. Organizational
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An organizational perspective on creative environments Anna Rylander, PhD Business & Design Lab, Gothenburg University
What is a creative environment? People Organization (social context) Workplace (physical context)
What is a creative environment? People Organizational identity Organization (social context) Workplace (physical context)
The case of “Professional Consulting” • Global consulting firm, 600 in Sweden • 43 semi-structured interviews • Strong elitist identity • “Professional” • “Duktig” (conscientious, hardworking, smart) • “Trevlig” (nice) • State-of-the-Art flexible workplace
Design intentions • Key requirements: Security, Functionality, Innovation • Light, open space, flexible • Emphasis on central meeting places • Cafés as “oasis” in the office, “the heart of the company” • Office as showcase, seen as very successful
Employee experience • “Impersonal”, “cold”, “sterile”, “not cosy” • Implicit link to organizational identity – “hidden messages” • Encourages certain behaviours • Look busy, no greeting, no coffee breaks • Social spaces not used as intended • “you can have a coffee break in several places, but nobody does because then you get a bad conscience – or somebody thinks you ought to”
OI & PE similar roles for sensemaking and social interaction OI influences attitudes & interpretations of PE The office design helps employees interpret OI Design of PE reinforces certain aspects of OI and suppresses others The complex interplay between identity & physical environment Values IDENTITY REGULATION Attitudes PE OI IDENTITY CONSTRUCTION Behaviours
Implications for workplace design • The design challenge • There is not oneuniversal design for creative environments • Experiential and symbolic dimensions intertwined in sensemaking • May be more important than instrumental dimensions • Design needs to work withthe (organisational) identity • The organizational challenge • Office design as mediator between the employee and the organisation • Difference between “core values” and identity • Pervasive communications medium