New Workworld -The Interrelation Of Workspace And Job Satisfaction

Abstract: Two years ago, when the global pandemic began, working from home seemed to be mandatory in a lot of organizations because of the health protection of employees and ensuring the functions of the business. Since the pandemic has gradually cooled down, employees are expected to return to the office, thus several opinions on such a matter have emerged. To balance opposing perceptions, a hybrid work model creates flexibility between working from home and working in the office. By offering this solution the thought about the optimized workspace is initiated. Therefore, employees’ evaluation of workspaces is triggered. What makes an employee satisfied and what degrades their job satisfaction? Thus, this research aims to develop an understanding of how and to what extent the choice of a workspace influences job satisfaction. For finding answers to those questions, we want to understand how each workspace affects job satisfaction by evaluating relevant factors consisting of relationships at work, the balance between work and private life, and the urge for autonomy. Based on qualitative interviews conducted with employees of a global company, it was found that job satisfaction is differently influenced by varying workspaces and depends on the perceptions of the employee. It is not the work itself but the job features of the work environment that influence the job satisfaction depending on the workspaces, e.g. social interactions or efficiency. While questioning the potential of the hybrid working mode, it shows that it can fulfill job satisfaction more than single workspaces, but the conditions must be adapted to the new conditions that have arisen.