Physical Office Environment Research Articles

An Overview of the Influence of Physical Office Environments Towards Employee

Office employees spend a lot of their time inside a building, where the physical environments influence their well-being and directly influence their work performance and productivity. In the workplace, it is often assumed that employees who are more satisfied with the physical environment are more likely to produce better work outcomes. Temperature, air quality, lighting and noise conditions in the office affect the work concentration and productivity. Numerous studies have consistently demonstrated that characteristics of the physical office environment can have a significant effect on behaviour, perceptions and productivity of employees. Most of the previous researchers in their studies are more focused on a single factor that could give an effect on employee‘s performance at work. However, no study was done to examine the relationships between the whole factors of physical office environment and employees ‘performance. Therefore this paper presents a literature review of several environmental factors which directly or indirectly affect employees work performance. Several factors of environments such as the effects of workplace design, indoor temperature, colour, noise and also interior plants towards employees well-being and performance have been discussed.

Assessing the functional significance of ecstasy‐related memory deficits using a virtual paradigm

Previous research shows that the use of ecstasy results in working memory and executive impairments in some users. The present study sought to assess the functional significance of such deficits using a virtual reality task. Twenty-three ecstasy-polydrug users and 26 nonusers were recruited. Individuals completed a drug use questionnaire measures of sleep quality and fluid intelligence. Participants also completed a virtual reality executive function task in which they play the role of an office worker for the day completing predefined tasks such as prioritising different activities according to their importance, organising the physical office environment and managing the outgoing mail in accordance with a delivery schedule. MANOVA revealed that ecstasy users performed worse on the virtual reality task overall, and this was due to poorer performance on the planning and selection subscales. Contrary to expectations, ecstasy-polydrug users performed better on the time-based prospective memory subscale. Indices of ecstasy use were correlated with the planning subscale of the virtual task. The present study provides further support for ecstasy/polydrug related deficits in executive functioning. As it is possible that this task is more ecologically valid and relevant to day-to-day activities of many users, previous research finding null results on executive function tasks may have underestimated the impact of ecstasy-polydrug use on executive functioning.

Linking the Physical Work Environment to Creative Context

Creative achievement of teams is increasingly recognized as an organization's most valuable production. With dramatically advancing technology producing an almost unlimited amount of available information, the crucial challenge to many corporate and government organizations is how to use that information most creatively. While little expense is spared on identifying and training teams to enhance their potential for creative achievement, little is known about how, or if, the physical designed environment of these organizations supports creative achievement of teams. This review of literature across the disciplines of creativity, organizational behavior, and environment and behavior studies advocates a position for the physical environment in the context of creativity. Creative team characteristics and social influences are linked to properties and attributes of the physical office environment.

The impact of the physical environment on the psychological well-being of office workers

This paper examines the relationship between the physical office environment and the psychological well-being of office workers. The results indicate that adverse environmental conditions, especially poor air quality, noise, ergonomic conditions, and lack of privacy, may effect worker satisfaction and mental health. The data also provide substantial evidence that worker assessments of the physical environment are distinct from their assessments of general working conditions, such as work load, decision-making latitude and relationships with other people at work. Stated another way, people who reported problems with the physical environment could not simply be characterized as dissatisfied workers exhibiting a tendency to ‘complain’ about every aspect of their working conditions. Taken together, these findings lend support to the position that the stress people experience at work may be due to a combination of factors, including the physical conditions under which they labor. Both theoretical and practical considerations arise from these data, including the need for work site based health promotion and stress reduction programs to consider both the physical and psychological design of jobs.

EFFECTS OF OPEN VERSUS CLOSED PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT ON EMPLOYEE PERCEPTION AND ATTITUDE

This experiment undertakes to determine the effects of a closed (versus an open) physical office environment on worker attitude, perception, and interpersonal relations. A closed environment provides for privacy but isolates employees; while, an increased interruptions. The results of this study suggest that the use of modular furniture systems may provide physical comfort (privacy) and still maintain an interactive climate for workers in an office setting.

Frequency of neck and shoulder pain and use of adjustable computer workstation among bankers.

Background & Objective:Neck and shoulder are the most susceptible areas for developing musculoskeletal symptoms among computer users. The modifiable risk factors for these work related musculoskeletal disorders include physical office environment and psychosocial work related factors. Computer workstation layout had been shown to be an important physical aspect of work environment that influences the upper quadrant symptoms. Our objective was to find the frequency of neck and shoulder pain and use of adjustable computer workstation among bankers of Islamabad/Rawalpindi/MultanMethods:A cross sectional study was conducted and 120 participants were questioned. Purposive sampling technique was used in this study. Maastricht Upper Extremity Questionnaire (MUEQ) was remodeled and important questions were extracted from its detailed version. The tool was then validated by taking expert opinion. Frequencies and percentages were calculated for categorical variables.Results:Pain in the neck during working hours was experienced by 71.67% of the respondents and 48.33% of the participants had experienced shoulder pain during working hours. Adjustable keyboards were used by 16.67% of respondents. Back care material was used by 40% bankers. Adjustable chairs were used by 95.83% of the participants. Only 3% of the bankers did not have chairs with adjustable heights. Chairs with adjustable armrests were used by 25% bankers.Conclusion:Neck and shoulder pain are common occurrences among bankers. Most of the components of workstations of bankers were adjustable but some of them still need attention.