Occupant Dissatisfaction Research Articles

Flanking noise at stacked townhouse entrance stairs

In stacked, wood-framed townhouses, entry stairs for upper units pass through the footprint of lower units. The demising construction between the units, therefore, includes the stairs and floor-ceiling below, as well as the stairwell sidewalls. This irregular construction creates the possibility of significant sound flanking paths between upper and lower units, potentially leading to poor noise isolation performance and occupant dissatisfaction. This paper present practical solutions that have been used to address sound flanking in these areas, including the results of comparative field measurements to evaluate effectiveness. It is concluded that improvements are possible, although wood-framed entry stairs as typically designed are likely to remain an acoustical weakness.

Identification of Occupant Dissatisfaction Factors in Newly Constructed Apartments: Text Mining and Semantic Network Analysis

Identification of Occupant Dissatisfaction Factors in Newly Constructed Apartments: Text Mining and Semantic Network Analysis

Occupant-centric metadata paradigms for comfort optimization in buildings

Three decades of building performance standards have resulted in a meaningful reduction in energy consumption in commercial buildings, but limited improvement in thermal comfort has been observed. ASHRAE Standard 55, the primary reference used to design and operate “comfortable” buildings, specifies six thermodynamic factors that must be addressed to provide comfort in a space. In practice, survey data reports only a small percentage of buildings are considered satisfactory by occupants. We perform a literature review to demonstrate that the range of each of the six thermodynamic dimensions of comfort can be observed well outside of the applicability of ASHRAE 55 in real buildings. The typical practice of modulating air temperature (Ta ) is shown to result in frequent occupant dissatisfaction. We posit that to be able to more consistently operate within a given “comfort zone” in a wider range of thermodynamic environments, we must embed within building systems higher-dimensional, occupant-centric parameters. To understand if two popular metadata schemas, Project Haystack and Brick Schema, are equipped to support higher-dimensional control paradigms, we (1) define a model, measure, manipulate (M3) evaluation criteria, which we (2) apply to each of the above schemas to determine if they can be used to codify closed-loop control for a given set of thermodynamic dimensions of comfort. We conclude that recent extensions to the Brick Schema provide much of the background necessary to codify closed control loops in six dimensions, and that Project Haystack requires a greater expansion.

Occupational dissatisfaction of nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic: A rising cause for concern of the world's nursing community

Since December 2020, the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has created many challenges for healthcare workers, especially nurses. Since nurses constitute 59% of healthcare workers worldwide, it’s necessary to pay attention to their needs as frontline fighters during COVID-19 pandemic. An extraordinary pressure is imposed on nurses due to the sudden onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, which is accompanied by an increase in workload, physical fatigue, disruption of the work-life balance, lack of personal protective equipment, and nurses' fear of being infected with COVID-19 themselves or their families. At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the most basic problems faced by nurses were their infection with COVID-19 and forced quarantine, and as a result, the effective activity and number of nurses in the departments affected by COVID-19 were reduced, which this issue led to an increase in workload on other nurses [1].

Time Allocation and Satisfaction Among Tenured Psychology Faculty at Public, Regional Universities

Background Research on the experiences of tenured faculty employed at teaching-intensive institutions is lacking. Objective We gathered data regarding how tenured psychology faculty allocate time. We identify variables that predict time allocation and report associations between time allocation and job satisfaction. Method We surveyed 386 tenured psychology professors at regional, public universities in the United States. We measured (1) the percentage of time respondents typically allocated and would prefer to allocate to four activities: teaching, research, service, and administration, and (2) job satisfaction and intentions to seek another position. Results Time typically allocated to teaching, research, service, and administrative activities was unrelated to job satisfaction. Time allocated to research was associated with intentions to seek another position. Associate professors allocated more time to teaching than did full professors. The discrepancy between typical and preferred time allocation was associated with occupational dissatisfaction. Conclusion In contrast to previous studies, we found that allocating a large percentage of work time to teaching activities did not predict lower job satisfaction. Teaching Implications Tenured psychology faculty allocated time to teaching activities in ways consistent with their preferences.

Learning building occupants’ indoor environmental quality complaints and dissatisfaction from text-mining Booking.com reviews in the United States

Traditional post occupancy evaluation (POE) poses a challenge to the comprehensive knowledge of occupant dissatisfaction with indoor environmental quality (IEQ) due to the nature of the pre-defined questionnaire structure and time-consuming data collection procedures. At the same time, the fact that “humans are effective sensors” and are inclined to report their impressions can be leveraged to collect data for a substantial number of buildings. This paper presents a text-mining approach to reveal the relationships between environmental conditions and occupant dissatisfaction in large populations. With a set of 1.2 million Booking.com open-ended reviews (i.e., 71,665 IEQ reviews) of temporary residences (e.g., hotels), we identified the prevalence of IEQ complaints, investigated the climate distributions and seasonal trends of IEQ complaints, and quantified the social benefits of IEQ in economic values. Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) complaints make up the majority of dissatisfaction ratings in all climate zones and IAQ-related reviews also have the worst sentiment scores, followed by visual, acoustic, and thermal discomfort. Windows are perceived as the common source that matters for all four categories of IEQ dissatisfaction. Our analysis also found that the IEQ value is correlated with increased rental costs when the temporary residences have satisfactory IEQ conditions. Our study demonstrates that IEQ satisfaction can be a key design driver and therefore, should be considered in building design, management, and real estate finance.

Common sources of occupant dissatisfaction with workspace environments in 600 office buildings

Previously unpublished data from over 600 office buildings in the Center for the Built Environment (CBE) Occupant Survey database are used to perform a systematic analysis of dissatisfaction in contemporary workspaces. A total of 81% of respondents expressed dissatisfaction with at least one aspect of their workspace, and 67% with more than one. Acoustics were the most common source of dissatisfaction, particularly related to people talking, speech privacy, and phones. Other challenges included a perceived lack of control over the temperature and insufficient space, along with other associated problems of densely populated offices. The analysis shows that context matters when understanding occupant dissatisfaction. Occupants of open-plan offices with low or no partitions were almost twice as likely to complain about their workspace than someone in a private, enclosed office. Being near a window decreased the likelihood of dissatisfaction compared with those who were not near a window. There was a clear relationship between self-perceived performance and satisfaction with the indoor environment. Dissatisfaction profiles found that acoustics, space, and privacy-related items co-occur for many occupants dissatisfied with more than one workspace aspect. <em><strong>Practical relevance</strong></em> Post-occupancy surveys are a useful tool for evaluating whether an office environment supports occupants while conducting their work. While highlighting the successes is important, complaints from dissatisfied occupants can identify issues and pinpoint reasons why spaces do not meet expectations. The reported challenges generally relate to the simultaneous reduction in control and personalization with increasingly open and densely populated layouts. Occupant dissatisfaction may impact performance given the reported relationship between satisfaction with the environment and feeling supported by the workspace to complete work tasks. The themes emerging from this analysis identify common dissatisfaction sources that can serve as an empirical basis to identify common problems in contemporary workspace designs.

The Significance of Occupants Satisfaction on the Maintenance Planning Process

In general standardization and maintenance of a building, numerous plans, procedures, and guidelines are essential for the appropriate management of such structure to meet expectations and withstand any form of problems that may erupt from its usage. In situations of employing inadequate and improper maintenance architecture in the management of the building services, the outcome leads to the compromise of the purpose of design of such building, thereby causing dissatisfaction to the users(occupants). The dissatisfaction of occupants often leads to complaints that increase the maintenance cost. The main focus of this paper suggests the appropriate use of the maintenance planning process to avoid accruing extra costs on maintenance both from the housing provider and user. This paper further highlights the effectiveness of the maintenance planning process and the significance of occupants’ satisfaction with maintenance provided in their homes. In achieving the objective, a survey was conducted and data gathered were analyzed using analytical tools such as frequencies and ANOVA. The study reveals the level of satisfaction of occupants with maintenance issues in the property and satisfaction with the safety measures put in place within the building. Finally, the result generated from the survey recommends the proper use of the maintenance planning process to avoid accruing extra costs on maintenance while prioritizing maximum customer satisfaction.

112 Ambulans Çalışanlarının Hizmet ve Sosyal Durumlarının Değerlendirilmesi

Objective: 112 Emergency Health Services (EHS) is crucial for preventing deaths and injuries with early intervention and significantly impacts survival. Many factors like shift working, occupational dissatisfaction, safety concern, and stress adversely affect 112 EHS workers. This study aimed to evaluate the working conditions, expectations, job satisfaction, service, and social conditions of 112 EHS staff working in Kahramanmaras to determine their difficulties and provide suggestions for more efficient working conditions.&#x0D; Material and Methods: This study was conducted with health workers working at 112 EHS in &#x0D; Kahramanmaras. A survey form was developed to investigate their service and social conditions. It was converted into an electronic survey containing 29 questions via Google Forms. Two hundred fifty-two health workers participated in the study by filling out the electronic survey.&#x0D; Results: The most important factors affecting workers’ job performance were job satisfaction/respect and salary level. Workers reported the majority of the cases encountered during a 24-hour shift were green zone patients.The average arrival time to the cases and the delivery time of the patients to the hospital are mostly within 0-10 minutes. Emergency room physicians’ approach and the lack of allied health personnel were the most common problems during patients’ delivery to the hospital. Most workers stated that protective measures on occupational safety in the EHS were insufficient and that they were subjected to physical assault.&#x0D; Conclusion: As a result of our study, it was determined that 112 employees experienced job dissatisfaction.This situation is the level of salary, lack of dignity, and fear of security.However, there are some deficiencies regarding the use and organization of 112 emergency health services. It is necessary to immediately improve 112 EHS workers’ working conditions and the coordination of EHS.

Influence of the occupational burnout syndrome on the work attractiveness among social workers

The objective of this article is to study and analyze the influence of burnout syndrome on the "work attractiveness" in social workers. For the purposes of the analysis, an empirical study was conducted among 170 social workers from 142 social services in Bulgaria. The data from the study confirmed though partially but statistically significant, the dependence of work attractiveness on the parameters of the occupational burnout syndrome in the professional social work practice. The following tendencies have been outlined: - Influence of the “occupational burnout syndrome” in the part of emotional exhaustion on the work attractiveness. The high level of emotional exhaustion does not presuppose low work attractiveness, just the opposite. - Influence of the “occupational burnout syndrome” in the part of emotional exhaustion on the probability of leaving. The dependency between the high emotional exhaustion and the low work dissatisfaction precondition a higher probability of leaving. - Influence of the “occupational burnout syndrome” in the part reduction of personal achievements on the work attractiveness. The high reduction determines the higher level of occupational dissatisfaction. Our study shows that specification of social work depends both on the conditions of labor and the personal qualities of the social workers.

Depression in Brazilian farmers: prevalence and associated factors

Background The unique characteristics of rural areas and agricultural work can contribute to the genesis of diseases, including mental disorders such as depression. Aims To estimate the prevalence of and factors associated with depression symptoms in Brazilian farmers. Methods A cross-sectional epidemiological study involving 784 farmers of the state of Espírito Santo/Brazil was carried out. Depression was identified using the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview. Hierarchical logistic regression was used to assess the associated factors. Results The prevalence of depression symptoms among farmers was 16.8% (n = 132). Of those experiencing symptoms, 6.1% (n = 48) we're currently experiencing a depressive episode, and 10.7% (n = 84) a recurrent depressive episodes. The associated factors were: female gender (OR 1.63; 95% CI 1.04–2.54), not owning the land (OR 1.79; 95% CI 1.11–2.89), professional dissatisfaction (OR 1.99; 95% CI 1.18–3.35), previous pesticide poisoning (OR 2.87; 95% CI 1.45–5.67), complex multimorbidity (OR 1.95; 95% CI 1.15–3.31) and occurrence of previous depressive episodes (OR 9.83; 95% CI 4.39–21.99). Conclusions A high prevalence of depression symptoms was identified among rural workers. Sociodemographic, occupational, clinical, and professional dissatisfaction factors were associated with a higher risk of depression symptoms in this population.

Dynamic façades – An exploratory campaign to assess occupant multi-domain environmental satisfaction and façade interaction

Building occupants interact frequently with façades. These interactions simultaneously affect several domains of the indoor environment (visual, thermal, air quality and acoustic) and occupant perception, as well as the energy performance of the façades. Yet this multi-domain relationship between façade and occupant is not well understood. This gap in knowledge is particularly problematic for dynamic façades, where automated controls endeavour to improve the energy efficiency and reduce occupant dissatisfaction. In particular, it is often unclear whether an integrated multi-domain approach is strictly required when evaluating occupant satisfaction with automated or manual dynamic façades. This research provides a “proof-of-principle” that such an approach is required. This conclusion was drawn after performing. small exploratory campaign conducted in a test chamber designed specifically for occupant-façade interaction in which several human volunteers were exposed to alternative façade typologies (a single-skin façade and a closed cavity façade) and different control strategies (manual control and automated control). As expected, the results show that the effects on the indoor environmental quality, occupant satisfaction and discomfort vary in space and time, and between the façade typologies investigated. It was also found that occupant satisfaction was not only affected by whether a certain thermal or visual condition had been reached, but also on how it had been achieved, e.g. whether the actuation was perceived as disruptive by the occupants. Finally, the results show that occupant satisfaction and the level of interaction in one domain may be affected by satisfaction in other domains.

A data-driven analysis of occupant workspace dissatisfaction

Studies often aim to determine which indoor environmental quality parameters best predict the overall workspace assessment. However, this method overlooks important differences distinguishing satisfied and dissatisfied occupant groups. We used a new analytical approach on 36671 post-occupancy evaluation responses to overcome this problem and better understand workspace satisfaction in office buildings. Principal components analysis reduced satisfaction votes with 15 different IEQ items into two principal components related to: 1) privacy and amount of space, and 2) cleanliness and maintenance. We grouped the data by occupants that were either satisfied or dissatisfied with their workspace. Principal component 1 explained half of the variability in the dataset and reliably distinguished occupants satisfied with their workspace from those that were dissatisfied. We used support vector machine to classify the satisfied and dissatisfied groups based on principal components 1 and 2. Classification of occupant satisfaction with the overall workspace was highly accurate (approximately 90%) and based predominantly on the component related to privacy and amount of space. Further analyses showed that occupants satisfied with their overall workspace were generally satisfied with all other IEQ items. There was greater independence between workspace attributes for those dissatisfied with their overall workspace. Issues of privacy and available space were an overwhelming determinant of occupant dissatisfaction irrespective of the success of other workspace attributes. These findings suggest that efforts to improve occupant satisfaction with workspaces should leverage designs that ensure privacy and provide sufficient space to support occupants in their work.

Triple bottom line sustainability assessment of window-to-wall ratio in US office buildings

The window-to-wall ratio (WWR), or the proportion of glazing in a building's envelope, influences many design and performance aspects of a building across its life cycle, including aesthetics, material use, daylighting, HVAC size and operating energy consumption, view, and human satisfaction. Prior work argued for reducing WWR to reduce operating energy consumption. The objective of this study is to comprehensively assess the environmental, economic, and social effects of various WWR levels using a triple-bottom line approach. A building information model of the US DOE's large office (12 story) prototype building was developed using Autodesk Revit®. The Tally® Revit application and DOE's EnergyPlus™ were used to perform life cycle assessment (LCA) and assess implications on HVAC equipment sizing, embodied energy of materials, and distribution of operational energy. Designs altering WWR from a baseline of 40% were compared in three different climate zones of the United States. Results showed that increasing the WWR in large office buildings leads to increases in environmental impacts, occupant dissatisfaction, and the life cycle cost for the three different climate zones studied. Most reductions in energy use and environmental impacts were approximately 1% from the baseline scenario for the office building under study. The results imply that while reductions in the WWR do result in improvements across the suite of metrics assessed, other design strategies need to be employed either in conjunction with, or separate from, in order to meet target energy consumption and environmental impact reduction goals within this building program, such as Architecture 2030 Challenges.

Participatory design in refugee camps: comparison of different methods and visualization tools

ABSTRACT Shelters for the displaced can suffer from socio-cultural incompatibility and significant levels of occupant dissatisfaction. Participatory design (PD) is known to help reduce such issues. This is the first study to investigate the effectiveness of different PD methods at engaging and capturing users’ needs for shelter design in refugee camps. It also aimed to identify which visualization tools are best at: engaging participants; communicating designs (e.g. concept, size and materials); and facilitating proposing modifications. This is a particularly large study with 16 workshops and 161 participants. Two PD methods were deployed: (i) design-your-own (where refugees proposed their ideal shelter); (ii) adapt-a-design (where refugees evaluated and modified pre-existing shelter designs). The shelters in (ii) were presented using three visualization tools: computer models, physical prototypes and virtual reality. Design-your-own proved less engaging and led participants to produce designs similar to their existing shelters. Adapt-a-design stimulated more dialogue and was more informative. Physical prototypes facilitated engagement in shelter modifications, computer models proved least able to communicate concepts, while virtual reality was best at communicating scale and size.

Utilizing Artificial Neural Network for Prediction of Occupants Thermal Comfort: A Case Study of a Test Room Fitted With a Thermoelectric Air-Conditioning System

Subjective analysis of thermal comfort of occupants relates to the recording of the level of satisfaction or dissatisfaction of occupants with regard to indoor environmental conditions on a scale which ranges from -5 to +5. This requires recruitment of subjects and matching for gender, age etc. In this study, we have tried to predict the thermal comfort of occupants by observing their real behavior inside the test room fitted with a novel thermoelectric air duct (TE-AD) cooling system rather than a conventional air conditioning system. Firstly, real experimental data were collected for more than two months from the test room equipped with the TE-AD cooling system operated at an input power supply of 6 A and 5 V. After that, the ANN model was developed based on the Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm by taking experimental parameters such as air temperature, relative humidity, globe temperature, wind speed, metabolic rate, and clothing value as model input. The ANN model is optimized by developing different models with different data points as a starting input in the training and validation process. The neuron optimization has been carried out in these models to minimize the mean square error (MSE) for the ANN model. The result shows that among the three models M1, M2, and M3, the optimum predictive mean value (PMV) was obtained from M1 at 10 neurons with MSE of 0.07956, while for predicted percentage dissatisfied (PPD), M3 gives optimum accuracy at 10 neurons with MSE value of 5.1789. The ANN model is then generalized to predict thermal comfort for one week and then for one month. Finally, all the model results were validated with the experimental data. © 2013 IEEE.

Users’ satisfaction of indoor environmental quality conditions in ZEB+ at high latitudes

Energy efficiency policy forces architects to design buildings with increasingly well-sealed building skin. With the minimized outdoor connection, the indoor environment factors depend strongly on technical systems and control. In these scenarios, occupant dissatisfaction indicates a need for improvements of indoor environment and the way it is controlled. The aim of the article is to contribute to the discussion about the user perspective of indoor environmental quality in ZEB in the Nordic region. The focus on daylight as a factor for visual comfort, and on low outside temperature as an aspect of thermal comfort was dictated by this choice. An experimental study was conducted with 75 participants, in which the thermal, acoustic and visual conditions (controlled factors) together with a view out, humidity and CO2 level (monitored factors) were assessed by them and quantified via sensors. In most studied settings, the thermal comfort was the most determinant factor, followed by the acoustic and visual comfort. Other significant factors were mean illuminance in the room, mean temperature at the participants’ desks and a mode value of the noise level. The daylight levels much lower than recommended in regulations were accepted by participants as comfortable if they were sitting by the window. Also, participants preferred a higher indoor temperature than the recommended in Norway.

Implementation of a self-tuned HVAC controller to satisfy occupant thermal preferences and optimize energy use

This paper presents the development of a self-tuned HVAC controller that provides customized thermal conditions to satisfy occupant preferences (i.e., online learning) while minimizing energy consumption, and the implementation of this controller in a real occupied office space. The evolution of personalized thermal preference models and the delivery of thermal conditions with model predictive control (MPC) form a closed-loop. To integrate these two parts, we propose a new method that always provides a set of lower and upper indoor temperature bounds. Different from ad hoc rules proposed in previous research, the control bounds are based on a decision-making method that minimizes the expected cost. We implemented the self-tuned controller in an actual open-plan office space conditioned with a radiant floor cooling system with eight independently controlled loops. Localized operative temperature bounds in each radiant floor loop were determined based on occupants’ feedback and personalized thermal preference models, developed using a Bayesian clustering and online classification algorithm. The self-tuned controller can decrease occupant dissatisfaction compared to a baseline MPC controller, tuned based on general comfort bounds. To generalize the findings of this work: (i) we integrated the self-tuned controller with local MPC into a building simulation platform using synthetic occupant profiles, and (ii) demonstrated a method for automatic system adjustment based on comfort-energy trade-off tuning. In this way, decisions resulting in energy waste or occupant dissatisfaction are eliminated, i.e., the energy is deployed where it is actually needed.

Thermal comfort and draught assessment in a modern open office building in Tallinn

Modern office building users have high expectations about the working environment and thermal comfort, which requires the installation of complex technical systems such as combined cooling and ventilation. Room conditioning units of these systems must ensure temperature and ventilation control in a way that air velocity is low and the air temperature in acceptable range. Achieving air distribution avoiding draught is one of the key elements of a thermal comfort in modern office landscape. Higher air velocity in occupied zone is easily perceived as draught, which causes occupant dissatisfaction and complaints, as well as decrease in the productivity or effective floor space area. To reduce complaints, room air temperature setpoints or ventilation airflow rates are often modified, which may result in higher heating energy demand. In addition, excessive heating setpoint rise will not only consume more energy, but may cause health problems. Compared to cellular offices it is more difficult to ensure thermal comfort conditions in open office spaces where there are no walls for air flows. In addition, due to the higher number of employees it is more difficult to meet satisfactory conditions for everyone. The aim of this study was to evaluate thermal comfort parameters such as room air temperature, air speed and supply air temperature and how the users sense it in a modern office building in Tallinn, Estonia. Design room air temperature setpoints and air exchange rate were evaluated on open office spaces. Measured data with web-based indoor climate questionnaire was analysed. Results show which design and measured parameters make it possible to match the user comfort at all times.

Rehabilitation Trajectories and Outcomes in Individuals With Mild Traumatic Brain Injury and Psychiatric Histories: A TRACK-TBI Pilot Study.

To determine differences in rehabilitation trajectories and return to work (RTW) and social outcomes in individuals with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) with and without significant psychiatric histories at index hospitalization. Three level 1 trauma centers participating in the Transforming Research and Clinical Knowledge in Traumatic Brain Injury (TRACK-TBI) consortium. A total of 305 individuals with index mTBI enrolled in the TRACK-TBI pilot project. Secondary analysis of data from the TRACK-TBI pilot study. Chart review and patient/family interview at emergency department (ED) admission, ED clinical data, ED discharge plan, functional interview data at 3- and 6-month outcomes, Trail Making Tests, the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, Fourth Edition, Processing Speed Index, the California Verbal Learning Test, Second Edition, and the Craig Handicap Assessment and Reporting Technique. Controlling for neurological history and CT lesion at ED admission, participants with and without psychiatric histories did not differ in terms of treatment, return to work, or reported social function. Individuals with psychiatric histories demonstrated lower processing speed and reported reduced satisfaction with occupational function at outcome. Individuals with mTBI and psychiatric histories may require specialized rehabilitation planning to address increased risk for cognitive difficulties and occupational dissatisfaction at outcome. CT lesion may independently influence outcomes.