ABSTRACT
Many organizations today are undergoing change as a means to reduce costs and improve productivity. Often this change involves employees in a change of work location and/or office configuration (e.g. change to open-plan offices). This, in turn, can affect employees’ individual private space and solitude. As a consequence, and despite the seemingly obvious benefits and cost reductions of office relocation, a growing body of evidence suggests that moving to a new or different place of work fails to produce the expected outcomes; or can even result in undesirable and unintended consequences. In this chapter, we draw on place-based theory to explain the nature of employees’ emotional attachments to their workspaces, which often results in unintended consequences (i.e. failure of workspace change). Based on a qualitative study involving 19 participants from 9 organizations experiencing various types of organizational change, we discuss the role of place attachment and its influence on employees’ attitudes and behaviours. We conclude with theoretical and practical implications of place attachment and its relevance to organizational workspace change.
