Since October 2023, a pilot for flexible workspaces has been running in the Erasmus School of Economics’ Econometrics department. The introduction of shared workspaces is necessary to continue accommodating the growing department in the basement of the E-building, explains director Dennis Fok. “We’re aiming to find the best solution within the space restrictions set by EUR”, he says. Additionally, the faculty will move to the Tinbergen building in a few years, which will offer even less space than it currently has.
Less productive and more working from home
The department has surveyed staff on how they experience the new working conditions. Forty percent of respondents feel that flexible working has had a negative impact on their productivity. Fewer colleagues are present on campus and the need to set up a workspace anew each day also contribute to this sentiment.
Workspaces now need to be reserved, which staff find frustrating as well. “Previously, I knew I could always go to the university and work there. Now, even though there will always be an empty desk somewhere, this is a situation with less certainty. Because of this, I don’t think of the university anymore as a place where I can always go. This is less comfortable”, says one staff member in the evaluation.
According to Fok, the main challenge for staff is the need for more planning. “It’s difficult to hold ad-hoc online meetings when sharing an office. People have to plan more to ensure, for instance, that a meeting room is available. And that’s burdensome.”
PhD candidates more positive
PhD candidates are generally more positive about the new arrangement than the rest of the staff. “For them, not much has changed. They were already sharing rooms with several people, and now they can book meeting rooms more easily”, Fok explains.
The conclusion, Fok continues, is that the introduction of flexible workspaces imposes significant costs on staff. “It seems as though these costs weren’t taken into account when the university decided that all departments should adopt this way of working”, he says.
I am not aware of (m)any top international research universities where tenured professors have flex offices. It seems that the flex office decisions were made without consulting the academic staff, without much consideration for the long-term effects on productivity, presence on campus, recruiting, and well-being of employees. I hope that the pilot data forces us to reconsider a number of choices.
Amen Martijn! The comment is spot on (and I believe that we can safely replace “(m)any” by “any”).
I disagree with the official interpretation, mentioned in the article, that the need to pre-book offices is the main problem with flex offices. The need to book a desk is a pain and a problem, but it is a problem that comes in addition to the main problem. The main problem with flex office is that one does not have one’s office (“your space”) and that installing and de-installing oneself all the time is highly inefficient (and productivity-reducing).
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