Title: Open space = open minds? The ambiguities of pro-creative office design

Authors: Torkild Thanem, Sara Varlander, Stephen Cummings

Addresses: Stockholm University School of Business, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden. ' Stockholm University School of Business, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden. ' Victoria Management School, P.O. Box 600, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington 6140, New Zealand

Abstract: Recently, open office design has witnessed a shift from formalised design models toward the promotion of fun, spontaneity and creativity through design. Using qualitative data from two case studies, we investigate how this |new spirit| of open and pro-creative office design may afford a broader range of behaviours than originally intended. We argue that it may actually undermine the kind of creativity that it is intended to foster, producing unforeseen forms of employee creativity that normalise rather than disrupt structures and boundaries. Finally, we discuss what implications this may have for the understanding of organisational politics.

Keywords: affordances; creativity; open office design; resistance; surveillance; tactics; pro-creative office design; organisational politics.

DOI: 10.1504/IJWOE.2011.041532

International Journal of Work Organisation and Emotion, 2011 Vol.4 No.1, pp.78 - 98

Published online: 25 Jul 2011 *

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