(Image above taken/edited from Medium (Check references list))
This subject may be a bit dry to talk about, but it might just be helpful in some way or another...
Generally speaking, what is the value of performing an ethnographic study in the workplace; in fact, in any workplace you can possibly think of? One of the main benefits that I can think of off the top of my head is helping to improve the health and happiness of employees, even if it's somewhere innocuous, relatively mundane and seemingly safe and risk-free (like your typical cubicle office). By conducting an examination of staff members in their working environment, you can discover what's limiting people from achieving their maximum potential. This vague assessment through ethnography is part of the reason for why it can be applied to many different times and places, and still be used as a baseline for future study. It could largely be observational or it could invoke actually asking people what they think of their current situation, the usefulness of which should speak for itself. If there's a problem that people are having, why wouldn't you talk to the individuals who are being effected by it? You can also employ an historical approach because "History...serves contemporary needs by showing how others addressed similar organizational problems" (Down, 2012). Someone has likely been there before you. Why try and figure it out on your own?
From an ethnographic study, you can ask more complicated questions like "What's something that can be changed easily which has been overlooked?", "What about the current situation is working and not working? Does it have to do with the amount of breaks? The time spent off work? A lack of proper rest and relaxation?" and "Are they doing something that's currently being limited by their surroundings, but they still do it because it's more convenient for them?" In other words, assessing the nature of desire paths, where individuals will ignore the constructed path ahead of them and will instead take a much shorter and more direct route to where they're going. In the vast majority of situations, "When cities lack the paths pedestrians need, people vote with their feet..." (Bramley, 2018). Observing this sort of behaviour closely in the workplace can lead to the discovery of 'alternative solutions' that can be taken for the betterment of everyone.
(This was made for the university subject, BCM241)
References:
Bramley, EV 2018, 'Desire paths: the illicit trails that defy the urban planners', The Guardian, viewed 5th October 2019, <https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2018/oct/05/desire-paths-the-illicit-trails-that-defy-the-urban-planners>.
Down, S 2012, 'A historiographical account of workplace and organizational ethnography', Journal of Organizational Ethnography, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 72-82.
Kinsella, B 2017, 'Why you can (and should) be an ethnographer in the workplace', Medium, viewed 5th October 2019, <https://medium.com/thrive-global/why-you-can-and-should-be-an-ethnographer-in-the-workplace-f2b5445fc4e4>.
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