Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-t5pn6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-23T10:36:35.964Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

BARRIERS TO HUMAN CONNECTIVITY AND THE DESIGN OF MORE COLLABORATIVE COWORKING SPACES

Part of: Human Behaviour and Design

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 June 2020

P. Mandeno  and
W. L. Baxter
P. Mandeno*
Affiliation:
Imperial College London, United Kingdom
W. L. Baxter
Affiliation:
Imperial College London, United Kingdom
*
*p.mandeno17@imperial.ac.uk

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

Coworking spaces – the most prevalent form of collaborative workplaces – are said to offer the ideal solution for a new generation of creative knowledge workers, balancing flexibility and independence with structure and community. Recent studies, however, highlight deficiencies as they relate to the promise of ‘community’ made by most coworking spaces. This work reports 16 barriers that impede the process of human connectivity in coworking spaces that emerged from in-depth interviews with 26 coworkers. Suggestions are made for how these barriers might inform more effective workplace design.

Keywords

experience designinteraction designhuman behaviourhuman connectivitycoworking
Type
Article
Information
Proceedings of the Design Society: DESIGN Conference , Volume 1 , May 2020 , pp. 1475 - 1484
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BYCreative Common License - NCCreative Common License - ND
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is unaltered and is properly cited. The written permission of Cambridge University Press must be obtained for commercial re-use or in order to create a derivative work.
Copyright
The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press

References

Allen, T.J. (2007), “Architecture and Communication among Product Development Engineers”, California Management Review, Vol. 49 No. 2, pp. 23–41. https://doi.org/10.2307/41166381, SAGE Publications Inc.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baker, W. (2000), Networking Smart: How to Build Relationships for Personal and Organizational Success, iUniverse, Incorporated.Google Scholar
Baumeister, R.F. and Leary, M.R. (1995), “The need to belong: Desire for interpersonal attachments as a fundamental human motivation”, Psychological Bulletin, Vol. 117 No. 3, pp. 497–529. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.117.3.497CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bernstein, E.S. and Turban, S. (2018), “The impact of the ‘open’ workspace on human collaboration”, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences, Vol. 373 No. 1753. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2017.0239Google ScholarPubMed
Blumenthal, K. (2007), Grande Expectations: A Year in the Life of Starbucks’ Stock, Crown Business Publications, New York.Google Scholar
Braun, V. et al. (2019), “Thematic Analysis”, In: Liamputtong, P. (Ed.), Handbook of Research Methods in Health Social Sciences, Springer Singapore, Singapore, pp. 843–860. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-5251-4_103CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brown, J. (2017), “Curating the ‘Third Place’? Coworking and the mediation of creativity”, Geoforum, Vol. 82, pp. 112–126. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2017.04.006CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Buchanan, R. (2010), “Design Research and the New Learning”, Design Issues, Vol. 17 No. 4, pp. 3–23. https://doi.org/10.1162/07479360152681056CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Burt, R.S. (2000), “The Network Structure Of Social Capital”, Research in Organizational Behavior, Vol. 22, pp. 345–423. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0191-3085(00)22009-1CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Casciaro, T. and Lobo, M.S. (2008), “When competence is irrelevant: The role of interpersonal affect in task-related ties”, Administrative Science Quarterly, Vol. 53 No. 4, pp. 655–684. https://doi.org/10.2189/asqu.53.4.655, SAGE Publications Sage CA: Los Angeles, CA.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Castano, E. et al. (2002), “Who May Enter? The Impact of In-Group Identification on In-Group/Out-Group Categorization”, Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, Vol. 38 No. 3, pp. 315–322. https://doi.org/10.1006/jesp.2001.1512, Elsevier.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Creswell, J.W. (2007), Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design: Choosing among Five Approaches, Second, Sage publications.Google Scholar
Culpin, V. et al. (2015), “How have careers changed? An investigation of changing career patterns across four generations”, Journal of Managerial Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1108/jmp-07-2014-0210, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.Google Scholar
Downey, G. and Feldman, S.I. (1996), “Implications of Rejection Sensitivity for Intimate Relationships”, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol. 70 No. 6, pp. 1327–1343. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.70.6.1327CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dunbar, R.I.M. (1998), “The social brain hypothesis”, Evolutionary Anthropology: Issues, News, and Reviews, Vol. 6 No. 5, pp. 178–190. https://doi.org/10.1002/(sici)1520-6505(1998)6:5, Wiley-Blackwell.3.0.CO;2-8>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dunbar, R.I.M. (2011), How Many Friends Does One Person Need? Dunbar's Number and Other Evolutionary Quirks, Harvard University Press, United States.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Epley, N. and Schroeder, J. (2014), “Mistakenly seeking solitude”, Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, American Psychological Association, Vol. 143 No. 5, p. 1980. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0037323CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fayard, A.-L. and Weeks, J. (2007), “Photocopiers and Water-coolers: The Affordances of Informal Interaction”, Organization Studies, SAGE Publications Ltd, Vol. 28 No. 5, pp. 605–634. https://doi.org/10.1177/0170840606068310CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fiske, S.T., Cuddy, A.J.C. and Glick, P. (2007), “Universal dimensions of social cognition: Warmth and competence”, Trends in Cognitive Sciences, Elsevier, Vol. 11 No. 2, pp. 77–83. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2006.11.005CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Flynn, F.J. and Lake, V.K.B. (2008), “If you need help, just ask: underestimating compliance with direct requests for help”, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol. 95 No. 1, p. 128. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.95.1.128, American Psychological Association.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Foertsch, C. (2017), “The Members: Who Works in Coworking Spaces?”, Deskmag, available at: http://www.deskmag.com/en/members-of-coworking-spaces-demographics-statistics-global-survey-coworkers-research-2017.Google Scholar
Fost, D. (2008), “They're Working on Their Own, Just Side by Side”, New York Times, available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/20/business/businessspecial2/20cowork.html.Google Scholar
Guillén, L. and Kunze, F. (2019), “When age does not harm innovative behavior and perceptions of competence: Testing interdepartmental collaboration as a social buffer”, Human Resource Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, Vol. 58 No. 3, pp. 301–316. https://doi.org/10.1002/hrm.21953CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Holt-Lunstad, J. et al. (2015), “Loneliness and Social Isolation as Risk Factors for Mortality: A Meta-Analytic Review”, Perspectives on Psychological Science, Vol. 10 No. 2, pp. 227–237. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691614568352, SAGE Publications Inc.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Inkpen, A.C. and Tsang, E. (2005), “Social Capital, Networks, and Knowledge Transfer”, Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 30 No. 1, pp. 146–165. https://doi.org/10.2307/20159100Google Scholar
Jones, G.R. (1986), “Socialization Tactics, Self-Efficacy, and Newcomers’ Adjustments to Organizations”, The Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 29 No. 2, pp. 262–279. https://doi.org/10.2307/256188, Academy of Management.Google Scholar
Kadushin, C. (2004), “Too Much Investment in Social Capital?”, Social Networks, Vol. 26 No. 1, pp. 75–90, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socnet.2004.01.009CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kojo, I. and Nenonen, S. (2017), “Evolution of co-working places: drivers and possibilities”, Intelligent Buildings International, Vol. 9 No. 3, pp. 164–175. https://doi.org/10.1080/17508975.2014.987640, Taylor & Francis.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Leclercq-Vandelannoitte, A. and Isaac, H. (2016), “The new office: how coworking changes the work concept”, Journal of Business Strategy, Vol. 37, pp. 3–9. https://doi.org/10.1108/jbs-10-2015-0105CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mandeno, P. and Baxter, W.L. (2019), “Design for human connectivity: A framework and research agenda”, International Association of Societies of Design Research Conference 2019 Design Revolutions.Google Scholar
McCrae, R.R. and Terracciano, A. (2005), “Personality profiles of cultures: aggregate personality traits”, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol. 89 No. 3, pp. 407. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.89.3.407, American Psychological Association.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Merkel, J. (2015), “Coworking in the city”, Ephemera, [United Kingdom]Google Scholar
Murthy, V. (2017), “Work and the Loneliness Epidemic”, Hbr.Org, available at: https://hbr.org/cover-story/2017/09/work-and-the-loneliness-epidemicGoogle Scholar
Oldenburg, R. (1999), The Great Good Place: Cafes, Coffee Shops, Bookstores, Bars, Hair Salons, and Other Hangouts at the Heart of a Community, Da Capo Press.Google Scholar
Park, N., Peterson, C. and Seligman, M.E.P. (2004), “Strengths of character and well-being”, Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, Guilford Press, Vol. 23 No. 5, pp. 603–619. https://doi.org/10.1521/jscp.23.5.603.50748CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sandstrom, G.M. and Dunn, E.W. (2014), “Social Interactions and Well-Being: The Surprising Power of Weak Ties”, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, SAGE Publications Inc, Vol. 40 No. 7, pp. 910–922. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167214529799CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schwartz, B. (2004), The Paradox of Choice : Why More Is Less, HarperCollins, New York.Google Scholar
Spinuzzi, C. (2012), “Working Alone Together: Coworking as Emergent Collaborative Activity”, Journal of Business and Technical Communication, Vol. 26 No. 4, pp. 399–441. https://doi.org/10.1177/1050651912444070, SAGE Publications Inc.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Spinuzzi, C. et al. (2018), “‘Coworking is about community’ but what is ‘community’ in coworking?”, Journal of Business and Technical Communication. https://doi.org/10.1177/1050651918816357, SAGE Publications.Google Scholar
Stephens, J.P., Heaphy, E. and Dutton, J.E. (2012), “High quality connections”, The Oxford Handbook of Positive Organizational Scholarship, Oxford University Press Oxford, pp. 385–399. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199734610.013.0029Google Scholar
Uda, T. (2013), What Is Coworking? A Theoretical Study on the Concept of Coworking, No. 2013-265. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2937194CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Useem, M. and Karabel, J. (1986), “Pathways to Top Corporate Management”, American Sociological Review, Vol. 51 No. 2, pp. 184–200. https://doi.org/10.2307/2095515, Sage Publications, Inc.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wineman, J.D. and Barnes, J. (2018), “Workplace Settings”, In: Devlin, A.S. (Ed.), Environmental Psychology and Human Well-Being, Elsevier, pp. 167–192. https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-12-811481-0.00007-xCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wu, Y., Leliveld, M.C. and Zhou, X. (2011), “Social distance modulates recipient's fairness consideration in the dictator game: An ERP study”, Biological Psychology, Elsevier, Vol. 88 No. 2-3, pp. 253–262. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsycho.2011.08.009CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed