The hybrid workspace: testing an activity-based model of hybrid workspace design

Using the lens of activity-based workspace design, we develop a model of the hybrid workspace (i.e. the organizational and home settings in which hybrid work occurs) which proposes that each setting has three core activity-supportive characteristics: interaction-supportive, concentration-supportive and recovery-supportive. Drawing on a two-wave data set collected from office-based employees in an engineering organization, we test and find support for our hypotheses that activity-supportive workspace characteristics (in oth organizational/office and home settings) foster employee outcomes, i.e. task performance, engagement and workspace satisfaction. Specifically, we find that office recovery-supportive characteristics increased task performance, office interaction-supportive characteristics increased satisfaction with the office workspace, and that home concentration-supportive workspace characteristics increased employee engagement. Conclusions are drawn for our understanding of workspace design and hybrid working.