OFFICE SPACE PLANNING- DESIGNING FOR TOMORROW'S WORKPLACE

Abstract

Emerging new work trends and the way people work have changed in workplaces. This has a significant impact on the demand for workspaces, which focus more knowledge-intensive, collaborative, and not so place dependent concepts. An effective office space planning will not only boost the performance of workers, but also save costs and portray better image for an organisation. So what is office space planning all about and why is there a need for it? In the old days, a simple table and ordinary chair might be the necessities for office workers. Now in the new age, office space planning becomes crucial for organisations. Office space planning is targeted at all the people working and using the space. How the staff feels about their working environment will reflect deeply on their sense of belonging to the company. This can be a critical factor in attracting and retaining good staff and talents. Effective space planning is not only meant to save costs, it is also intended to provide a flexible office layout, conducive working environment and the right technology for staff to communicate and perform more efficiently. Office space planning is no longer associated with space planners and facility designers only; it has also evolved into improving workers' working space and environment. Therefore, design factors in office space planning have significant impact on the performance and productivity of workers. The aim of this study is to explore these factors and the extent of influence these factors have on the performance of full-time on-site office workers. Various office space planning factors derived include cost containment, organisational change, communication and participation, attracting and retaining staff, human and psychological factors, and advancement in information technology (IT). ANOVA models were generated with "Worker Performance" as the dependent variable. Results showed that Organisational Change, Communication and Participation, Human and Psychological Factors, and Advancement in IT were critical. The other two factors: Cost Containment and Attracting and Retaining Staff were not significant factors affecting workers' performance. Various logit models were also generated to test other dependent variables and how impact of the design factors and respondents' characteristics can contribute to the level of workers' performance. Human and Psychological Factors is one of the main variables to have a significant impact on the performance of workers. The outcome suggests that human comfort is still the key factor to improve performance and productivity of workers. In the ranking of the space planning design factors, the top three factors that most of the respondents feel could affect their level of performance are: Communication and Participation, Human and Psychological Factors, and Advancement in IT. The findings suggest that in order to have a working environment which is effectively designed and that could improve workers' performance, the planner or designer could consider input the needs of the workers during the planning and design stage through continuous communication and participation.