Page 10 - InnoRenew CoE International Conference 2024

What if your workspace does not fi t your tasks? The role of

fi tting and misfi tting spaces on organizational culture strength

and job satisfaction

Chiara Tagliaro *, Alessandra Migliore 2
1
1 Politecnico di Milano, Department of Architecture, Built environment and Construction engineering, via Ponzio 31, 20133, Milano, Italy,
chiara.tagliaro@polimi.it
2 Politecnico di Milano, Department of Management, Economics and Industrial Engineering, Via Lambruschini 4/b, 20156, Milano, Italy,
alessandra.migliore@polimi.it
* Corresponding author

With the increase in remote work and the possibility employees have for deciding where to carry out their work
tasks (e.g., at home or in places other than the office), the alignment between people’s activity and workspaces has
become even more important, especially when organizations aim to attract their workforce to the headquarters.

However, office-activity misfit happens often when the physical layout or design of an office does not match the
activities being carried out within it. This misalignment between the workspace and work tasks may reduce job
satisfaction, with unwanted consequences on retention, turnover, absenteeism, and so on. At the same time,
organizational values and the consensus on those values (i.e., cultural strength) may mitigate the alleged negative

relationship between office-activity misfit and job satisfaction. Scientific evidence is still missing, though, to

prove the extent to which office-activity misfit affects job satisfaction and whether cultural strength moderates
this relationship. This study shows the preliminary results deriving from a cluster analysis based on data of a
single organization located in Italy. Two groups of workers were recognized: (i) those who have a workspace that

fits their tasks (i.e., fit group); (ii) those who lack a workspace that fits their tasks (i.e., misfit group). The paper

compares the two groups through a mixed-method approach including (i) econometric analysis of survey data
and secondary data; (ii) qualitative analysis of data from semi-structured interviews and focus groups with
employees; and (iii) observations. From this preliminary analysis, organizational culture strength has been found
to play a positive effect on job satisfaction only in the fit group while not in the misfit group.

Keywords: office type, work activity, office-activity misfit, job satisfaction, organizational culture

10 11–12 SEPTEMBER 2024 I IZOLA, SLOVENIA