Page 116 - WHERE WE WORK - Schlegelmilch

Reconfiguring workplaces
The shared office building afforded these unexpected encounters, such that the proximate presence of a colleague in a shared location acted as a visual cue to act. At the office, the central coffee bar was the most prominent location for such encounters, as a manager explained:
"Close to the coffee machine. When I want to open myself up to some easy one-on-ones without needing to plan them [...] Then, these are the things I do, and the space facilitates that completely." (P11, middle manager, low tenure)
A cup of coffee was also seen as a symbol of availability for coworkers to be approached, thereby making it feel legitimate to stop and talk. One middle manager tries to explain the unwritten rules about holding a cup of coffee:
“Because you have the idea that when you pass by, it’s really easy to say to someone, ‘Do you have a moment?’. To call someone or to ping someone [instant message] even though you don’t know if the person is in a meeting or if the person is available. It feels like I need to have something more important if I don’t see you physically than when I see you pass by with a coffee in your hand. Then I know that you probably have a minute.” (P22, employee, low tenure)
When the employees did not share an office anymore, the information about a coworker's availability was much less available. Nevertheless, the employees also recognized that chance encounters at the office were a balancing act. One worker explained that the effect was different in terms of timely orientation: "It's also really distracting; you can't get work done. When I'm at the office, I assume that I won't get anything done. Instead, I will start up some long-term stuff." (P20, employee, low tenure). We found that such a long-term perspective was focused on being on each other's radar for projects, hence maintaining work relationships.
Second, the limits of the reconfiguration efforts also concerned the digital space. TechSub’s employees strongly relied on collaborative technology for their work. Employees critically noted that:
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