Page 76 - WHERE WE WORK - Schlegelmilch

Moving between places
2.4.3 Affordancesacrossplaces
The three affordances are enabled and constrained to differing extents by the physical and social aspects of the three places (co-working spaces, cafés, housing). When workers aim to create their temporary work environments, the degree to which an affordance could be perceived in a place was a crucial consideration. We compared the places based on how often our respondents described that the places enabled each of the three affordances (Table 2.7).
Regarding malleability, both co-working spaces and housing were often perceived to enable the affordance, whereas cafés do so only sometimes. All three places share that they have basic physical amenities (table, chairs, Wi-Fi) that enable nomadic workers to create temporary work environments, but co-working spaces tend to be most comprehensive. This stems from the fact that co-working spaces are targeted explicitly at flexible workers by having different areas (focus and social) and providing enough power outlets. The differences are more pronounced regarding the behavioral norms present in each place. Co-working spaces were perceived as designated for working and setting up temporary work environments. Hence workers felt legitimate place to work there. Moreover, while housing was not necessarily dedicated to working, the nomadic workers had control over the use of the place. This enabled ordering the place for nomadic work. Cafés were most open to interpretation regarding their functional dedication as they enable different types of uses. Most commonly, people sit there together to socialize and have a drink or a bite. However, the spatial features also allowed for another interpretation, namely of the café functioning as a workplace. Over the course of our data collection, we noticed that the latter became increasingly common, especially in urban areas. One indication of the legitimacy to work in a specific café was the presence of other workers.
Turning to privacy, housing typically was most described to enable the workers to control incoming distractions, then co-working spaces and cafés the least. In housing, the lack of other people enabled workers to
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