Modelling the use of space and time in the knowledge economy

Flexible working gives employees in knowledge-based organizations new opportunities for choosing the locations and times of work activities. This trend has been described many times, but the literature has little quantified data about the resulting activity patterns, or their impact on the scale of demand in buildings. A preliminary simulation model of individual employees' decision-making in office-based organizations was developed, generating quantified output data describing the times and places chosen for work activities. Decision-making was based on individual preferences between home and office locations over a 25-time period weekly cycle. Systematic models runs provided indications of possible trends. Survey data from real organizations that compared participants' actual and preferred activity patterns provided some empirical support for the model findings. The model requires further empirical validation, and offers scope for enhancement. Information provided by models of this type would be highly relevant for the briefing, design, and management of buildings for the knowledge economy.