Association between perceived indoor environmental characteristics and occupants' mental well-being, cognitive performance, productivity, satisfaction in workplaces: A systematic review

Abstract

As office workers spend a substantial amount of time on working indoors, the indoor environmental quality can significantly affect their mental and work performances. This systematic review provides a synthesis of current studies on the relationship between perceived indoor environmental characteristics (PIEC) and occupants' mental wellbeing, cognitive performance, productivity and satisfaction in offices. Eleven PIEC domains were summarized into five factors, including visual quality of naturalness, visual quality of decoration, space & furniture & privacy, indoor climate, and environmental maintenance. Key findings are listed as follows. First, effects of indoor climate, space & furniture & privacy, and visual quality of naturalness were broadly studied, while visual quality of decoration and environmental maintenance did not receive enough attention. Second, many studies supported significant effects of indoor climate, space & furniture & privacy, visual quality of naturalness on mental wellbeing, productivity and satisfaction. Third, new studies would be required to identify effects of visual quality of decoration and environmental maintenance on occupants. Fourth, there is a clear lack of consistency in the studies of cognitive performance. Finally, it would be necessary to promote experimental studies (randomized controlled and quasi) to test the association between these environmental factors and occupants’ performances in offices.