Workplaces had to be located with rest, oddly (8)
I believe the answer is:
ateliers
'workplaces' is the definition.
(atelier is a kind of workplace)
'had to be located with rest oddly' is the wordplay.
'had' becomes 'ate' (e.g. I had an ice cream).
'to be located' becomes 'lie' (something that lies somewhere is located there).
'with' says to put letters next to each other.
'oddly' indicates alternate letters (letters in the odd-numbered positions are used).
The alternate letters of 'rest' are 'rs'.
'ate'+'lie'+'rs'='ATELIERS'
(Other definitions for ateliers that I've seen before include "Accommodation" , "workshops" , "Artist's workrooms" , "Artists' studios" .)