Territory and Personal Space (6)

Question 1

What is personal space according to Hall?

Answer 1

• according to Hall (1959) personal space is an ‘emotionally charged bubble of space which surrounds each individual’
• it helps us to control relationships and acts as a buffer against other people
• the size varies depending on who we are interacting with, as well as a number of other factors

Question 2

What did Middlemist find?

Answer 2

• examined the effects of personal space invasion on men at urinals
• when a confederate went into a urinal immediately next to a subject the time between unzipping and urinating was higher and total urination time was lower than when a one urinal gap was given

Question 3

What impact can the invasion of personal space have?

Answer 3

• can cause stress, anxiety, fear and aggression, so most people avoid invading others’ personal space, as we know it will be distressing for them
• Garfinkel (1964) asked students to bring their faces close to the face of the person they were talking to
• these acquaintances showed confusion and embarrassment and some thought the behaviour showed sexual intentions

Question 4

What is territory?

Answer 4

• an area that has a marked perimeter or visible boundary that is relatively stationary, which places limits on who can enter
• as visible and fixed, it is easier to measure and observe than personal space
• territoriality: behaviours that are employed to claim and defend territory

Question 5

How does Altman suggest there are different types of territory?

Answer 5

• different types of territory vary based on the level of perceived ownership and the amount of personalisation
• either primary, secondary or public

Question 6

How has territory in the workplace developed?

Answer 6

• sociocultural changes surrounding the role of women and family life in the workplace, and technological advances such as high quality internet, have meant that our territory in the workplace has changed dramatically for many workers
• the value of office space is high, so companies often seek to minimise costs by having relatively small spaces for quite large numbers of employees
• the main way this has been achieved is to move from closed-plan offices to open-plan offices, where workers have a cubicle in an open space rather than an office of their own -> some have gone further, using a “hot desking” arrangement
• open plan designs can be sociofugal (promoting seclusion by having workers facing outwards) or societal (promoting interaction by having workers facing inwards)

Question 7

What research shows the effect of territorial behaviour in the workplace?

Answer 7

• Brown and Zhu conducted a field study across 10 organisations
• survey showed when participants have their own area they feel positive towards it and towards the organisation
• however, the more territorial behaviour is seen by an individual, the lower their perceived status is judged by other colleagues and the lower their performanace is seen to be

Question 8

What was the aim of Wells’ study?

Answer 8

To show that…

• men and women will personalise their space differently and for different reasons
• personalisation will be positively associated with well-being
• workspace personalisation will be more integral to the well-being of women than of men
• companies with more lenient personalisation will report higher levels of organisational wellbeing than those with stricter policies

Question 9

What sample did Wells use?

Answer 9

• 20 companies in Orange County California responded to request sent to 2000 companies taking part in the larger Small Business Workplace Wellness Project
• only companies with 15 or more employees eligible
• companies covered a wide range of employment types
• 338 respondents

Question 10

What was included in Wells’ survey given to respondents?

Answer 10

• workplace personalisation
• satisfaction with the physical work environment
• job satisfaction
• well being
• perception of organisational wellbing
• personality traits
• demographic info

Question 11

What was conducted in Wells’ procedure except from the main survey?

Answer 11

• coordinator in each organisation completed separate survey about the company’s personalisation policy and organisational wellbeing
• 23 people acted as case studies and were interviewed
• asked about items they displayed, whether personalisation affected their satisfaction with work, how they would feel if they were prevented from displaying items, overall satisfaction with job

Question 12

What differences did Wells find with regards to men and women?

Answer 12

• women personalised more than men to show their identity, express emotions and improve the feel of the workplace - men tended to do so to show their status
• women had more personal items
• types of items differed
• interview data suggested workplace personalisation was more integral to the wellbeing of women than of men

Question 13

What factors did Wells find were associated with well being?

Answer 13

• the number of personal items
• the link between how much they want to personalise and how much they are allowed to personalise
• the extent to which they can control the layout of the workspace
• overall, personalisation positively associated with well being

Question 14

How can office designs be improved?

Answer 14

• creating private office spaces (Kim + de Dear surveyed 300 American companies and found those with private offices most satisfied)
• avoiding hot desking
• allowing personalisation (Tajadura-Jiminez et al. found allowing employees to use iPods created a sense of personal space)
• engaging employees in work place design