Employee perceptions of territoriality and conflict in open-plan offices

Little research has examined employee territorial behaviours in Organization Behaviour (OB) literature. In the present research, we investigate the antecedents and consequences of territorial behaviours in open-plan offices. In particular, we built and tested a conceptual model that examined the connection between concerns about open-plan offices configurations (e.g., reduced privacy, personal control and identity), territoriality, employee perceptions of territoriality and conflict. Data were collected from 233 open-plan workers in Australian-based organisations. Results indicated that concerns over open-plan offices were associated with employee territorial behaviours. Intrusion to territorial boundaries and employee’s negative perception of territoriality were linked with conflict. Additionally, results showed a direct effect of open-plan offices concerns on conflict. We discuss the implications of our results.