Relationship between Self-Assessed Productivity, Gender and Age in Mixed-Mode and Fully Air-Conditioned Offices in Florianópolis, Brazil

Abstract

The quality of the indoor environment and anthropometric parameters influence the users’ productivity in a building. This study aims to evaluate the influence of environmental and anthropometric characteristics on the self-assessed productivity of office building users in the humid subtropical climate of Florianópolis, Brazil. Three hybrid buildings equipped with air-conditioning and natural ventilation and one centrally air-conditioned building were considered. Indoor environmental data were obtained by means of measurements. Electronic questionnaires collected anthropometric characteristics and the perception of productivity by the users. The analysis of the users’ performance was performed using box diagrams. The results showed that women and occupants over 50 years old preferred high temperatures during the use of natural ventilation. When air-conditioning was on, the perception of productivity concerning the operative temperature did not show significant differences between anthropometric variables. It was concluded that the use of air-conditioning reduced the influence of anthropometric characteristics on self-assessed productivity and that people maintained their work performance despite the higher internal temperature variations during natural ventilation operation.