Does office aesthetics drive job choice? Boosting employee experience and well-being perception through workplace design
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/ER-06-2021-0253 |
| Published date | 21 March 2022 |
| Date | 21 March 2022 |
| Pages | 1077-1091 |
| Subject Matter | HR & organizational behaviour,Industrial/labour relations,Employment law |
| Author | Lorena Ronda,Elena de Gracia |
Does office aesthetics drive job
choice? Boosting employee
experience and well-being
perception through
workplace design
Lorena Ronda
University of Deusto, Bilbao, Spain, and
Elena de Gracia
Comillas Pontifical University, Madrid, Spain
Abstract
Purpose –Drawing from experiential theory and decision-making theory, this article aims to posit that
workplace aesthetics acts as a driver for job choice when included with an employment offer. Whilst
organisational literature has recognised that office experiential cues in general, and aesthetics in particular,
affect employee performance and well-being, employer attractiveness scales have not yet incorporated office
aesthetics as a component of job-offer choice.
Design/methodology/approach –A choice-based conjoint (CBC) experiment was conducted to estimate the
weighted utilities of three aesthetic and three non-aesthetic employer attributes. Subsequently, the attributes’
importance in the job choice decision was estimated.
Findings –The results indicate that aesthetic attributes in the workplace can be equally important in the
decision-making processas non-aesthetic attributes and that aesthetic attributes deliver as much utility as non-
aesthetic attributes in driving job choice.
Practical implications –These conclusions are relevant for Human Resource (HR) managers engaged in
crafting job offers, who should consider that employees may improve their assessment of a job offer as a result
of superior organisational aesthetics demonstrated during the recruitment process as well as in contexts where
employees would be expected to combine remote and office-based work.
Originality/value –The present study represents a novel approach to understanding job applicants’
preferences for aesthetic elements in the workplace. The results suggest that the workplace experience is
relativistic and that considering applicants’latent preferences is crucial when designing efficient job offers.
Keywords Workplace experience, Employee experience, Employee well-being, Office aesthetics,
Employer attractiveness, Job choice
Paper type Technical paper
Introduction
The present study integrates the theoretical framework of organisational aesthetics with
decision-making theory to explore how workspaceaestheticscaninfluenceemployeeexperience
and drive job choice. Job positions consist of a bundle of organisational attributes that contribute
to the satisfaction of employees’higher needs and goals (Grant et al.,2007). Employee well-being
has been conceptualised in organisational literature as the benefit obtained when employees
successfully meet their needs and have a positive work experience. Employee well-being
comprises, amongst other things, dimensions such as career development, financialcompensation
and social relationships (Rath and Harter, 2010). Employer attractiveness literature has portrayed
employee well-being dimensions as signals of the quality of an organisation when attracting
talent (Tanwar and Prasad, 2017). Economic theory posits that candidates select an
Office
aesthetics
driving job
choice
1077
This paper forms part of a special section “Employee Experience and Well-Being in International
Workplaces”, guest edited by Wided Batat.
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
https://www.emerald.com/insight/0142-5455.htm
Received 14 June 2021
Revised 20 November 2021
2 March 2022
Accepted 6 March 2022
Employee Relations: The
International Journal
Vol. 44 No. 5, 2022
pp. 1077-1091
© Emerald Publishing Limited
0142-5455
DOI 10.1108/ER-06-2021-0253
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