Browsing by Subject "http://www.yso.fi/onto/yso/p1834"

Along with the technological development, and the transition to knowledge society, our way working has changed. Due to digital solutions and advanced technology employees have the ability to work in a much more flexible work environment. Activity-based working gives employees the opportunity to choose how and where they work. At activity-based workplaces, no one has their own desk. Instead, the concept of free seating is used. Activity-based working creates options and independence for employees, but at the same time activity-based working can be perceived as challenging. In the thesis, a phenomenographic approach was used, and as a researcher, I focused on employees' different conceptions of activity-based working. The purpose of the study was to get a deeper understanding about employees' conceptions of activity-based working, and moreover, how the way of working influences the organisational culture and work identity. The theoretical framework consisted of earlier studies about activity-based working, as well as theories regarding organisational culture and work identity. The data were gathered during spring 2017, and involved 9 interviews with 9 employees, who work at activity-based organisations. The method of analysis was the phenomenographic approach. The employees sense, that activity-based working influences organisational culture, and work identity positively, as well as negatively. It appeared that employees find activity-based working as motivational. In addition, the employees find that activity-based working bring openness to the work culture, and enhance the communication. The employees also sense that activity-based working affects work identity, and that the work role becomes more dynamic and task orientated. However, some employees perceived activity-based working as challenging, and that it causes a formal work environment, constructed by unintended social structures. The results also showed conceptions of activity-based working causing anonymous work identity. Over all, the study proves that the conceptions of activity-based working, and how it affects organisational culture and work identity, differ. Yet, even though the results reveal conceptions of activity-based working coursing formal work environment, and anonymous work identity within the workplace, the employees value activity-based working and the ability to choose where and how they work.