Office design and dignity at work in the knowledge economy

Abstract

The current chapter looks at a grossly overlooked aspect affecting employee dignity in the workplace – the physical environment. While the knowledge economy has grown tremendously in the last four decades, researchers have not paid much attention to the new needs of the physical workspace despite the fact that office buildings represent the second largest financial overhead after human resource. At the same time, the physical space is a critical element in the organization of the processes, activities and ultimately the power structure of any organization.