This study aims to understand how the everyday actions of office workers in accomplishing work influence the arrangement of their workspaces. In particular, this research examines the role of the office environment in the enactment of office work, the adaptability of the office setup and the adjustments made by office workers as work unfolds. With office workers increasingly seeking flexibility in where and when work is done, it is important to expand existing knowledge of office setups by exploring how these setups accommodate evolving work practices and the new roles the office fulfils during day-to-day work.
This study uses data collected using ethnographic methodology to draw from the lived experiences of office workers in the office environment. The ethnographic study of a situated case was conducted in the headquarters of a Kenyan organisation (a national power utility). Multiple sources data enabled triangulation to enhance credibility. Using an inductive, practice-based approach, this study analysed the data by coding observations and transcripts, identifying emergent themes and then interpreting spatial-temporal patterns through the lens of social practice theory – particularly the concepts of materiality (physical aspects of the workspace) and meaning (the intentions and significance behind office work practices).
Office work practices were found to be highly dynamic, with continually changing worker intentions, use of objects and spatial-temporal arrangements. While the office environment played multiple concurrent roles: it not only enabled work tasks and reinforced organisational norms (e.g. hierarchy, designated uses of space) it also became a site of ongoing adaptation where workers exercised agency. This study illustrates that the office setup is co-created through practice: it evolves in response to what people are doing. Overall, workers continually negotiated their quest for convenience and control – selecting times, places and configurations of work that best fit their intentions – even as they operated within the constraints of corporate policies and workspace designs.
By applying qualitative, social practice–oriented methods in a post-occupancy context, corporate real estate and facilities managers can gain deeper insight into how employees actually use and adjust workspace in real time. Rather than relying solely on periodic satisfaction surveys, engaging with workers’ day-to-day experiences can reveal why certain features or configurations succeed or fall short. The findings highlight the importance of providing adaptable and flexible work settings that can accommodate both formal organisational requirements and the spontaneous, varied preferences of office users. Facility managers should consider strategies (including the use of modular furniture, multi-purpose spaces or supportive policies) that empower office workers to reconfigure their immediate environment easily, thereby aligning workspace support with the dynamic nature of modern office work.
This research offers a social practice perspective on an office environment in the Global South, a context underrepresented in workplace studies that are largely based on the Global North. It foregrounds office workers’ lived experiences and their active role in shaping workspace usage. The study’s insights demonstrate how everyday adaptations serve as a bridge between pre-designed space and emerging work practices. By interpreting these adaptations through social practice theory, this paper contributes to a more nuanced theoretical understanding of workplace flexibility and user agency. The findings also provide valuable lessons for corporate real estate and facilities management, emphasising that effective workspace design and management must account for the fluid interplay between material settings and the social practices they host.
