ANALYSIS OF THE CONSTRUCT OF WORKPLACE ATTACHMENT - THEORETICAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR A TRANSACTIONAL PLACE-STUDY

The physical environment people work in is psychologically significant to them. The work environment affects their performance and well-being both directly and indirectly. In this paper the authoresses argue that the person-environment fit theory by Proshansky, Ittelson, Rivlin (1970), the privacy concept by Altman (1975), and the place theory by Canter1977), taken together, can be used for integrating our knowledge about workplaces. Also, Proshansky's place-identity theory (1978) should be taken into account for a complete environmental psychological interpretation of people's relationship to their workplaces, since familiar, safe and controlled places assure feelings of competence and autonomy for their users. Assuming that the workplace is a primary territory, it is plausible that place attachment develops there inevitably. As a consequence of place usage, privacy regulation and other factors, the workplace becomes an essential part of the person's place identity. To understand this process thoroughly, all the processes involved in the transaction and their interconnections should be examined. In this study the authoresses consider the office as a work place in depth and outline our transactional environmental psychological approach as a theoretical background.