”Ibland kan man känna att man är mer ensam nu” : En fallstudie om de anställdas upplevelser av arbete i ett aktivitetsbaserat kontorslandskap.

Sammanfattning: It is becoming increasingly common for offices to change and move from the traditional cellular office to open and activity-based landscapes. These offices are adapted to working needs and are said to be flexible where employees themselves can choose how and where they want to sit and work. Telia is one of the companies that recently has undergone a reorganization and designed its offices with an activity-oriented design. The purpose of this study is to find out how Telia employees experience working in the new environment. But also to find out whether the physical design is perceived to affect the social interactions in the workplace. This study is of a qualitative nature as it aims to clarify the experiences of the employees. Semi-structured interviews have been conducted with five employees, each of which has different occupational roles within the company. The theoretical framework used to analyze the results is Bang’s (1999) Theory of Organizational Culture, different parts of Goffman’s (2006) Dramaturgical Perspective and Jacobsen & Thorsvik’s (2014) Theory of Organizational Communication. The results found show both the pros and cons of activity-based approach. Besides ergonomics, deep interactions and the feeling of knowing where one’s colleagues sit, Telia’s employees seem to be positively set on the new office landscape. The results in this study demonstrate, among other things that the activity-based office is perceived to create flexibility and networking between employees. Finally, the study shows that hierarchy, solidarity and communication together represent a positive sense of the new activity-based office landscape at Telia, according to the employees.