Shared Use of Academic Workspaces

Purpose
This paper discusses the shared use of academic facilities and related notions. Its aim is to examine modes for effective and efficient use of facilities in the post-pandemic era. The paper first defines the aspects related to the shared use of spaces on campuses and academic workplaces. Based on the factors, it illustrates nine modes associated with the shared use of workspaces. The various ways to use shared facilities are clarified in the model description.
Theory
Theoretically, the paper reviews the access-based consumption of academic facilities.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper examines data collected from two universities in Finland during 2022. The main findings are formulated in an inductive process using qualitative content analysis and the theory of shared use of facilities. The material comprises 18 semi-structured interviews and 10 group interviews conducted through workshops. The interviewees represent all levels of the academic environment: administration, professors, teachers, and students.
Findings
The findings discuss the shared use of facilities through three thematic clusters of aspects. The first cluster illustrates the sharing on campuses based on the user groups, the time/length of use, and the access option. The second cluster defines four levels for shared facilities: individual, team, interface, and organisation based. The third cluster concentrates on workspaces from the individuals’ viewpoint and formulates nine work modes based on time and space variables.
Originality/value
The shared use of facilities in university and academic work contexts still needs thorough investigation after the pandemic. The data collected in this study represents well the cynical approach to the problems yet to be solved. The results benefit the briefing and designing of campus environments from various viewpoints for shared use of facilities. The role of facilities management should be to follow the change processes within users’ sharing practices.