Blog on the New Way of Working: Bricks, Bytes and Behavior
The world in which we work is changing. The advancement of information technologies is conceived as one of the major causes for the changing nature of work. Work is no longer restricted to a certain time or place. Work may even cross the traditional boundaries of organizations. As information has become available to everyone anywhere,... Continue Reading →
In past centuries, apart from slavery, people worked on the land or in crafts in a relatively independent way. Knowledge intensive work was learned in a master-apprentice relationship and often performed in guilds or other professional associations. It was not until the Industrial Revolution, which began in the nineteenth century, when major changes in work... Continue Reading →
With the changes in way we work, the role of the workplace is changing too. One of the most visible effects of the implementation of the New Way of Working in organizations is the radical re-design of office space; the creation of new office space that is breaking with all traditional rules and design concepts.... Continue Reading →
It may seem that the way we work hardly changes from day to day, but over time the change is enormous. It is hard to imagine how organizations could operate in the past without computers, because today, people go home when the network goes down. In the nineties, changes were mostly IT-driven, based on the... Continue Reading →
You can receive a printed copy of the dissertation (223 pages) for € 8,00. These are the bare printing costs. The shipping/postal costs are on me. There are still enough extra copies available so feel free to ask. Use the contact page to order a copy of the dissertation. The abstract text on the back... Continue Reading →
In the brief review of the history of work (see blog post), the effects of the Industrial Revolution and the Scientific Management theory of Taylor (1911) were discussed. They led to the low-level managerial control of employees, who were deprived from all personal development. The reaction from the job enrichment theory (Herzberg, 1966; Hackman &... Continue Reading →
Though research (e.g. Van Heck et al., 2012) indicates there are positive effects of the New Way of Working for the employee and organization, there may also be drawbacks that should not be overseen. Apart from the benefits in schedule freedom and time saved in commuting, the New Way of Working could lead to social... Continue Reading →
The number 1 objection employees have against the implementation of the New Way of Working, and the new flexible office design, is the fear of losing their own desk and work space. Davenport (2005) found employees are often skeptical of open office arrangements, suspecting that the primary benefit is the lower space costs, achieved by... Continue Reading →
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