BURONEO

Among the recent evolutions of the tertiary work world, workspaces are today subject to powerful reconfigurations, accelerated by the pandemic and its consequences as well as by environmental concerns: development of inter-company coworking in shared spaces; development of "inspiring" and ecological premises, reputed to be modular according to their development; flex office replacing the old dedicated offices to better articulate with a project-based organization; development of an activity-based working approach based on a set of various spaces and services (meeting rooms, collective offices, individual spaces, phone room, cafeteria, concierge service, etc.). These new configurations are presented as more modern, flexible and adapted to the specificities of the contemporary economy. They are also criticized as potentially damaging to companies and the women and men who work in them. But how are these working environments really spreading? Who are their promoters, and on the basis of what arguments? To what extent are they changing the very nature of work? What are the advantages and limitations for those who work in them? And how do the institutional actors in the world of work position themselves in the face of these changes, depending on whether they seek to promote them, regulate them or prevent them ? In order to shed light on the genesis, forms, impact, justifications and criticisms of these new facilities, this project brings together researchers from sociology, psychology, ergonomics and law. Four objectives are pursued: 1) to understand the genesis of these 'flexible' offices, taking into account a more ancient history of their modularity; 2) to report on the experience of the users of these new spaces, taking into account the socio-material configurations, the practical constraints of their work and their expectations; 3) to trace the way in which these arrangements are conceived, implemented and their uses are regulated in organizations; and 4) to track the construction of a normative framework for the policies of arranging these working environments, the professional relations in charge of their regulation and the possible disputes that arise from them. The contexts studied will be deliberately contrasted: private companies aiming to optimize work organization and reduce property costs; public administrations promoting facilities deemed more attractive; international coworking chains seeking to attract start-ups and young graduates. Using a case-by-case approach and a variety of qualitative methods (interviews, archive processing, monographs, ethnographic observations, analysis of company agreements and court decisions), the research will aim to restore the converging features of these new models, while showing the plurality of their logics, forms and impacts. The aim will be to build a case library accessible to all researchers to facilitate comparison; to model these new forms of office in their diversity; and finally to explain the different ways in which employees use them. The aim of BURONEO is to develop a genuine collective and interdisciplinary scientific expertise on offices, while at the same time arming the actors in the workplace with the means to critically reflect on these changes. In addition to scientific publications (articles and collective work), a special effort will be made to disseminate the results and to ensure that they are appropriated by those involved in the world of work, notably through the publication of a white paper. Finally, this research will open up the possibility of setting up future comparative surveys at a European level.