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Changing the Office Design to Activity-Based Flexible Offices: A Longitudinal Study of How Managers’ Leadership Behaviours Are Perceived

Author

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  • Johan Larsson

    (Department of Occupational Health Sciences and Psychology, University of Gävle, 801 76 Gävle, Sweden
    Department of Human Work Science, Luleå University of Technology, 971 87 Luleå, Sweden
    Department of Occupational Health and Safety, Luossavaara-Kiirunavaara Aktiebolag (LKAB), 983 81 Malmberget, Sweden)

  • Stig Vinberg

    (Department of Health Sciences, Mid-Sweden University, 831 25 Östersund, Sweden)

  • Helena Jahncke

    (Department of Occupational Health Sciences and Psychology, University of Gävle, 801 76 Gävle, Sweden)

Abstract

This longitudinal study examines the impact of office type on employees’ perception of managers’ leadership behaviours, which is an unexplored area. The expanding research related to activity-based flexible offices (AFOs) has mainly focused on employees’ working conditions and health outcomes, not on the changes in leadership behaviours when moving from traditional offices to AFOs. Office workers ( n = 261) from five office sites within a large Swedish government agency were included in a controlled study of a natural intervention. At four sites, traditional offices were replaced by AFOs, while workers at one site with no relocation acted as the control. The same employees rated different leadership behaviours in a web-based questionnaire at baseline and at one follow-up. The analyses showed that relocations from cell and open-plan offices to AFOs were clearly related to a decrease in the perception of relation-oriented leadership behaviours. However, coming from open-plan offices to AFOs also decreased the perception of the other leadership dimensions. As expected, the control group was stable over time in their perceptions. This emphasises the need for organisations to provide managers with prerequisites so they can keep up with behaviours that support employees’ performance and health when office designs and ways of working are changed.

Suggested Citation

  • Johan Larsson & Stig Vinberg & Helena Jahncke, 2022. "Changing the Office Design to Activity-Based Flexible Offices: A Longitudinal Study of How Managers’ Leadership Behaviours Are Perceived," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(20), pages 1-14, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:20:p:13557-:d:947371
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Elena Ahmadi & Gloria Macassa & Johan Larsson, 2021. "Managers’ work and behaviour patterns in profitable growth SMEs," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 57(2), pages 849-863, August.
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    3. Lauren Arundell & Bronwyn Sudholz & Megan Teychenne & Jo Salmon & Brooke Hayward & Genevieve N. Healy & Anna Timperio, 2018. "The Impact of Activity Based Working (ABW) on Workplace Activity, Eating Behaviours, Productivity, and Satisfaction," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-16, May.
    4. Skogstad, Anders & Einarsen, Stacle, 1999. "The importance of a change-centred leadership style in four organizational cultures," Scandinavian Journal of Management, Elsevier, vol. 15(3), pages 289-306, September.
    5. Arvonen, Jouko & Pettersson, Pär, 2002. "Leadership behaviours as predictors of cost and change effectiveness," Scandinavian Journal of Management, Elsevier, vol. 18(1), pages 101-112, March.
    6. Ekvall, Göran & Arvonen, Jouko, 1991. "Change-centered leadership: An extension of the two-dimensional model," Scandinavian Journal of Management, Elsevier, vol. 7(1), pages 17-26.
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