Is Flexible Shared Workspace Model Truly Beneficial for the Users? A Review of Costs and Benefits

Abstract

With the advancement in technology along with the changes in consumer behaviour, flexible shared workspace which is a new model in the workspace concept has become increasingly popular. Although abstract evidence is available on benefits as well as on the costs of these workspaces in a disorderly manner, comprehensive and scientific evidence is not properly and recently reviewed to identify the costs and the benefits of these flexible shared workspaces. Thus, a clear knowledge gap exists on whether these spaces are truly beneficial for their users. Intending to fill this knowledge gap, the main purpose of this study directs towards identifying the costs and benefits of using shared workspaces. The study findings will be useful for current and future shared workspace users when making decisions on selecting spaces for their work and also for space providers in order to identify the areas that they should improve to attract more customers. This study was done through a comprehensive literature review and 21 quantitative, qualitative and mixed approach articles published on flexible workspace context during the years from 2000 to 2022 were reviewed. The findings of this study reveal that the costs are mostly related to the areas of privacy, productivity, control, psychological concerns, cost and ergonomics while the benefits relate to a high level of flexibility, collaboration, knowledge sharing, networking, performance and low cost. The authors propose future researchers to conduct research studies to validate these findings empirically.

© 2022 The Authors. Published by Department of Estate Management and Valuation, University of Sri Jayewardenepura

Keywords: Flexible Workspaces; Sharing; Facilities; Costs and Benefits; Review