Productivity Of Office Workers Research Articles

An Investigation of Indoor Environment Quality on Occupants’ Thermal Responses, Health, and Productivity: A Study Based on Physiological Data in Occupied Office Space

This study explores the impact of Indoor Environment Quality (IEQ) on the health and productivity of office workers in an office building in Fujisawa, Kanagawa, Japan. Previous studies have shown that IEQ can affect the physiological responses of occupants, such as of skin temperature, heart rate, and metabolic rate, which are indicators of health and productivity. However, most studies took place in controlled laboratory environments, which may not accurately represent real-life experiences. The study collected subjective and objective data from actual occupied office space, including on perceptions of IEQ, health, and productivity, and measurements of IEQ parameters such as on the thermal environment, light environment, indoor air quality, and acoustics. The study used correlation and linear regression methods to examine the relationship between IEQ, physiological data, and subjective responses to health and productivity. The stable thermal environment and low physical intensity of office work may contribute to the weak correlation between physiological data, thermal responses, and health–productivity variables. The results of this study can provide insights into how IEQ affects the psychological responses, well-being, and performance of office workers in real-world settings.

A study of subjective evaluation factors regarding visual effects of daylight in offices using machine learning

Daylight has a positive impact on the health, pleasure, and productivity of office workers. Analyzing how environmental parameters affect daylight's visual effects can help effectively evaluate daylight sensation and assist architects in creating more appropriate daylight environments. The study explores the impact of different daylight environments on occupants' perception via extensive controlled daylight experiments in Harbin, China. Based on the experimental results, we find two common factors in the visual effects of daylight through exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis. Take the evaluation factors (daylight satisfaction and daylight complexity) with the highest factor loading coefficient in each common factor as an example, construct a predictive model based on the XGBoost algorithm and validate its performance. Then, the SHAP (SHapley Additive exPlanations) method is used to analyze the influence mechanism of feature parameters and their interaction combinations on the visual effects of daylight in office spaces. The results indicate that the feature parameter Ltask/Lm significantly impacts daylight satisfaction and complexity. The interaction combination between feature parameters Ltask/Lm and Ltask significantly influences daylight satisfaction evaluation. In contrast, the combination of Lmed and Daylight Glare Probability (DGP) contributes the most to daylight complexity. The study addresses theoretical and technical gaps in the visual effects study of daylight through questionnaire assessment and explanatory analysis, enhancing the precision and scientific rigor of daylighting design.

Comparison of McKenzie and Isometric Exercises on Neck Functions of Computer Users with Forward Head Posture

Introduction: Prolonged use of computer can lead to poor posture such as forward head posture (FHP). This posture is associated with imbalance and stiffness of the neck muscles, lack of postural awareness and inappropriate ergonomics, resulting in work-related musculoskeletal disorders. These disturbances can affect the performance and productivity of office workers. Postural awareness training, neck exercises, and modalities are interventions in FHP management. Research that compares the effectiveness of cervical McKenzie and isometric exercise on neck functional score in computer users with forward head posture has not been conducted.
 Methods: This research was a quasi-experimental. The participants, 24 computer users working at Kariadi Hospital, Semarang, were divided into 2 groups by purposive sampling receiving cervical McKenzie exercise (n=12) and cervical isometric exercise (n=12). Each group received different exercise. Neck functional score was assessed by Neck Disability Index (NDI) questionnaire before and after intervention. The mean differences before and after treatment, as well as between groups was compared statistically using paired t-test.
 Results: The mean NDI score in the McKenzie group after treatment showed an improvement of 7.84 ± 3.54 with p = 0.002. The mean NDI score in the isometric group after treatment also showed an improvement of 3.93 ± 3.75 with p = 0.004. The difference in NDI score improvement in the cervical McKenzie group was greater than the one in isometric group and statistically significant with p = 0.017.
 Conclusion: Cervical McKenzie exercise was proved to be more effective in improving neck functional scores in patients with FHP compared to cervical isometric exercise.

Indoor environmental quality in offices and risk of health and productivity complaints at work: A literature review

Many service jobs are carried out in modern offices, with individual offices being increasingly replaced by open-plan settings. The high number of adult people working in office buildings, in most situations sharing the workplace with many others during a considerable part of their daily time, highlights the importance of providing adequate guidance to ensure the quality of office environments. This paper aims to summarize existing data on modern offices' indoor environmental quality (IEQ) conditions in terms of air pollution (volatile organic compounds (VOC), particulate matter and inorganic pollutants), thermal comfort, lighting and acoustics and the respective associations with health and productivity-related outcomes in workers. Evidence shows that although many offices present acceptable IEQ, some office settings can have levels of air pollutants, hygrothermal conditions/thermal comfort and illuminance that do not comply with the existing international standards and recommendations. In addition, findings suggest the existence of significant associations between the assessed IEQ indicators and the risk of detrimental effects on health and productivity of office workers. In particular, airborne particles, CO2, O3 and thermal comfort were linked with the prevalence of sick building syndrome symptoms. Poor lighting and acoustical quality have also been associated with malaise and physiological stress among office workers. Similarly, better productivity levels have been registered for good indoor air quality conditions, in terms of VOC, airborne particles and CO2. Overall, the evidence revised in this work suggests that for promoting health and productivity recommendations for office building managers include actions to ensure that: i) all relevant IEQ indicators are periodically controlled to ensure that levels comply with recommended limit values; ii) declared indoor pollution sources are avoided; iii) adequate ventilation and acclimatization strategies are implemented; and iv) there is the possibility of conduct personalized adjustments to environmental conditions (following workers' preferences).

Office Sustainability Assessment for Endearing Resilience in an Academic Environment

Office conditions are crucial to assessing the sociocultural, economic, environmental and public health of the majority of the urban population. The office is a built environment that takes up the bulk of the time and energy of society's elite. As such, the quality of office spaces has a significant effect on the health, comfort, satisfaction and productivity of office workers. No doubt, inadequate indoor environmental quality will impede workers' productivity and well-being. Sustainability in the office addresses the interface through which resilience in both the biotic and abiotic components of the indoor working micro-environment can be measured and transformed for full productivity. In the light of this, this article evaluates the factors driving infrastructural, health and economic resilience in academic institutions. The study reviews the literature on the theory of human behaviour, with a view to establishing the link between key concepts in infrastructural, health and economic resilience and office sustainability within an academic environment. It identifies office sustainability as a major determinant in the effective measurement and development of resilience in academic environments. It was observed that the dimensions of infrastructural, health and economic resilience are in-built features which academic institutions should adopt to achieve overall resilience in the academic environment. This assessment should bring about major social and economic benefits, given the quantum of time that members of the university staff spend in their offices

Building wellness performance and work engagement

AbstractThe aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of building wellness performance on the productivity of office workers. In six offices with different CASBEE Wellness Office (CASBEE‐WO) scores, a questionnaire survey on indoor environment satisfaction, work efficiency, CASBEE Office Health Checklist (CASBEE‐OHC) simplified version, and work engagement was conducted. The results revealed that most workers in offices with high wellness performance reported more satisfaction with the thermal, light, sound, and air quality environments. In addition, the overall indoor environment improved the work efficiency of workers. Moreover, workers in offices with high CASBEE‐WO scores tended to have high CASBEE‐OHC simplified version scores. In the offices with high CASBEE‐WO scores, the top 20% of workers with high work engagement tended to have higher CASBEE‐OHC simplified version scores than the remaining 80%. According to the “80/20 law,” most outcomes of a group depend on the top 20% of productive workers. Thus, considering the wellness performance of the office, it may be possible that the productivity of workers with high work engagement will be improved.

Study on productivity of office workers and power consumption of air conditioners in a mixed-mode ventilation building during springtime

The thermal environment in offices affects the productivity of workers; thus, it is important to adjust the thermal environment appropriately with heating, ventilation, and air conditioning. However, there is an urgent need to reduce the amount of energy used in the building sector for cooling, which has been rising. Mixed-mode ventilation has attracted attention as a means of decreasing air conditioning power consumption and improving the satisfaction of office workers. In the present study, a measurement survey and a questionnaire survey were conducted during springtime to investigate air conditioning power consumption during mixed-mode ventilation and to elucidate the relationship between the use of mixed-mode ventilation and productivity. The power consumption on the mixed-mode ventilation floors was less than that on the mechanical ventilation floors in the measurement period when the average outdoor air temperature was 21 °C, with savings ranging from 3.1% to 70.6%, although it varied widely with the weather conditions. The relationship between the use of mixed-mode ventilation and productivity was analyzed using multilevel analysis (hierarchical linear model), a method that considers the data hierarchy. Mixed-mode ventilation improved the productivity of male participants by about 9.1%, suggesting that mixed-mode ventilation could both decrease air conditioning power consumption and improve productivity during springtime. However, the increase in productivity of female participants was about 0.5%, indicating that there may be differences depending on gender. The present study has practical implications for promoting mixed-mode ventilation as a means to reduce air conditioning power consumption in offices and improve productivity.

Room Automation System in Politeknik Sultan Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah (POLIMAS)

The objective of this paper is to design an efficient room automation system in POLIMAS to control and automatize lighting, fan and air-condition.. This system will overcome human mistakes where the students or staffs forget to switch off the appliances in classroom or laboratories, and effectively reduce the cost of operation and power consumption of the buildings. Room Automation involves the automation and controlling the electrical appliances. The system will monitors electrical parameters of room appliance such as temperature, humidity and ambient light. The factors like temperature and light can have significant effects on the productivity of office workers as well as students. Thus, classrooms, laboratories and staff offices can be equipped with super sensors featuring temperature and light monitors. Besides, it helps in reducing power consumption by monitoring the environment condition and controlling the appliances as well as conservation of energy in the campus. Furthermore, it provides simple and cost effective to the institution. The system uses Arduino ESP8266 NodeMCU platform as the IoT end-device connecting to various sensors and actuators to the platform via Wi-Fi channel. By using Wi-Fi connectivity, the hardware integrates with software application to control, monitoring and analysis. A sequence testing is conducted to determine the connectivity and integration of hardware and software. The performance of each sensor was performed to measure the accuracy. As a result, PIR sensors are able to detect general movement in effective range of about 10 meters. Moreover, the DHT temperature sensor in range of 5 meters away from air-condition is able to read the present room temperature and send command to the air-condition adjusting the air- condition’s set temperature similar to the air-condition’s remote. Thus, by implementing this system, not only the electrical appliances in a room more manageable and under control but also able to reduce the operational cost and improve environmental protection.

Comparative Study of Impact of Radiant Cooling Ceiling and Convective Air Conditioning on Wellness, Physiology and Productivity of Office Workers

Comparative Study of Impact of Radiant Cooling Ceiling and Convective Air Conditioning on Wellness, Physiology and Productivity of Office Workers

オフィスの空調方式の違いが執務者の知的生産性に及ぼす影響 （第2報）夏期・冬期被験者実験の結果

オフィスの空調方式の違いが執務者の知的生産性に及ぼす影響 （第2報）夏期・冬期被験者実験の結果

The Effect of Musculoskeletal Problems on Fatigue and Productivity of Office Personnel

Introduction: Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) can be affective on the fatigue and productivity of office workers. This study aimed to survey of the effect of musculoskeletal problems on fatigue and productivity in office personnel.Methods: In this study, 101 Iranian office workers participated. Data was gathered through demographic questionnaire, Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire, Numeric Rating Scale, Persian version of Multidimensional Assessment of Fatigue Scale, and Persian version of Health and Work Questionnaire.Results: The results revealed that the highest prevalence rates of musculoskeletal symptoms in the past week were related to the neck (41.6%), lower back (41.6%), and shoulders (40.6%). The mean score of discomfort/pain in the neck, lower back, and shoulders were 1.67, 1.55, and 1.31, respectively. The severity of discomfort/pain in neck, shoulders, lower back, and thighs were correlated with total fatigue. The severity of discomfort/pain in the neck, lower back, buttock, and thighs were correlated with concentration/focus sub-scale of productivity.Conclusions: Improvement of working conditions is suggested for reducing musculoskeletal problems, fatigue decrement, and productivity increment.

Can self-evaluation measure the effect of IEQ on productivity? A review of literature

PurposeThe purpose of this literature review is to investigate the reliability of self-evaluation as a method for measuring the effect(s) of indoor environment quality (IEQ) on the productivity of office workers. The aim of this review is to identify the various constraints to its adequacy in measuring productivity.Design/methodology/approachThirty studies were selected from peer-reviewed sources and reviewed on their method of measuring productivity. These studies used self-evaluation (questionnaires or interview) as the sole method of measuring the effect of IEQ on productivity/performance.FindingsThis review provides insight on the insufficiencies and biases prevalent in self-evaluation. Various issues that compromised the reliability of self-evaluation results in an office environment were discussed. It was concluded that self-evaluation is not reliable and does not accurately measure occupant productivity.Research limitations/implicationsThis study has been a review of past studies and their findings. Further studies that will provide empirical evidence are required to solely test the reliability of self-evaluation in measuring productivity and the effect of factors such as IEQ on it.Practical implicationsThe paper calls for further debate on occupant productivity measurement and how the various factors that affect it can be quantified into measurable entities.Originality/valueThis paper fulfils an identified need to revisit the technique of self-evaluation as a method for measuring occupant productivity.

Light Pipe Transporter for High-rise Office Building in Tropical Climate

Daylight has known to bring benefits for human, psychologically and physiologically. It also provides better indoor environment quality and thus increase the performance and productivity of office workers as stated by Paevere (2009). However, due to economic reasons, the current practice of using deep open plan building has cause a dent to having daylight in the interior spaces, which cause a dependency on artificial lighting. Hence, to provide daylight in deep interior, light distribution system is needed. Although so, according to Hansen (2003), most of the systems can only illuminate up to 8m-10m depth. Therefore, light pipe (LP) plays an essential role where it can illuminate up to 20m depth. LP’s efficiency depends on the 3 main components; collector, transporter and extractor. This research explores the effectiveness of horizontal LP through different type of transporter’s shapes which includes rectangular, triangular, square and semi-circle. Previous studies have shown differences of efficiency on the shaped while using vertical LP. This research’s analysis was done using a computer simulation, Integrated Environment Solution: Virtual Environment (IESVE), where DF of each shapes were compared to MS 1525:2007 benchmark. The viability of the software was also validated though an assessment with a physical scaled-model experiment that was conducted in an open car park in Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Johor, Malaysia. The results from the simulation showed that semi-circle shaped transporter offered the same efficiency as rectangular shaped. These findings will promote the usage of LP in buildings as it decreases the costing for LP.

The effect of indoor office environment on the work performance, health and well-being of office workers.

BackgroundThe effect of indoor environment may have an influence on the performance, productivity health and well-being of office workers.MethodsEnvironmental factors such as indoor temperature and illumination have been investigated at three levels. A neurobehavioral test (NBT) has been proposed for the evaluation of office workersc performance. A field lab to emulate an office has been created. In controlled condition of environmental factors, the neurobehavioral test was conducted. The response time and the number of errors in each test have been recorded. A randomized block factorial design was used to analyze the responses of office worker’s performance.ResultsThe results revealed that the independent and interaction effect of temperature and illumination have significant effect on the office workers’ performance. The effect of indoor room temperature has more influences than the effect of illumination. The effect of indoor temperature has 38.56% of contribution on the performance. The optimum levels of indoor temperature at 21°C and illumination at 1000 lux have improved the work performance and health of office workers.ConclusionThe indoor room temperature and illumination are more influence on the performance of the office workers. It may be concluded that the impact of indoor room temperature (38.56%) is more on the office worker’s performance than the effect of illumination (19.91%). Further, it may be concluded that the optimum level of indoor room temperature (21°C) and illumination (1000lux) have improved the work performance, health and productivity of office workers.

Effect of height adjustable desks on standing time, discomfort, and productivity of office workers with sedentary occupations (37.8)

Sedentary jobs promote weight gain and health risks. Interrupting sitting with standing is protective against sitting‐related health risks. However, standing for portions of the workday will not be accepted if it reduces comfort or productivity. This study determined the initial changes from baseline (conventional sitting height desk) to 1‐week after receiving a height adjustable desk for sitting/standing times, steps (activPAL), musculoskeletal discomfort (Nordic questionnaire), productivity (questionnaires 3x/day for 3 d), and energy intake (3 d ASA24 recall) in 13 men and women. Subjects were 33‐66y and not provided with direction to change behavior or behavioral goals. Height adjustable desk installation decreased workday sedentary min (6.7±0.3 vs 4.0±0.3 hr/d) and increased standing time (2.2±0.2 vs 4.9±0.3 hr/d). These changes were accompanied by decreased tiredness and increased perceptions of amount and quality of work completed and overall work performance and no changes in musculoskeletal discomfort or energy intake. Non‐work step number, standing time, and sedentary time were not changed. Height adjustable desks increase standing without further behavioral intervention and is accompanied by greater perceived work performance. Increased work‐time standing is not compensated for by decreased non‐work standing or greater energy intake.Grant Funding Source: Sponsored by USDA 5450‐51000‐049‐00D

The effects of exposure to natural light in the workplace on the health and productivity of office workers: a systematic review protocol

Review question/objective The objectives of this review are to examine studies that evaluate offices with windows to the external environment which permit the entry of natural light on the health and productivity of the workers as monitored by output, staff turnover, sickness and absence from work and measures of their health status. The specific question to be answered: • Do office workers with exposure to daylight experience better general health? • Do office workers with exposure to daylight demonstrate a higher productivity of work output? Inclusion criteria Types of participants This review will consider studies that include adults who work in an office environment. It is anticipated that all study participants will be over 18 years of age and regularly working in an office or office-like environment. Studies considering effects on night-shift office workers will be included with outcomes considered separately from day-time office workers. Studies that consider regular part-time or full-time workers will be included in the review. This review will consider studies including males and females regardless of any pre-existing medical conditions. However, participants with pre-existing medical conditions will be examined in a sub-group analysis. Types of intervention For the purpose of this the office environment is considered to be an administrative work place as opposed to a factory, school or retail facility. Office workers within other facilities may be included, however this population must be able to be considered discretely. The review will consider studies that evaluate office space with windows, skylights, atria or any facility allowing exposure to daylight from the external environment with our without a nature view compared to office space without facility to allow exposure to daylight and having lighting provided exclusively by electric light sources. i.e. • Intervention: office space with windows, skylights, atria or any facility allowing exposure to daylight from the external environment with our without a nature view • Comparator: office space without facility to allow exposure to daylight and having lighting provided exclusively by electric light sources. Types of outcomes This review will consider studies that include health and work productivity outcome measures TRUNCATED AT 350 WORDS

The effects of exposure to natural light in the workplace on the health and productivity of office workers: a systematic review protocol

The effects of exposure to natural light in the workplace on the health and productivity of office workers: a systematic review protocol

Ergonomic interventions for office workers with musculoskeletal disorders: A systematic review

Ergonomic interventions designed for office and computer work have become widely available and heavily marketed but there is little evidence to support their use with workers who already have a musculoskeletal disorder (MSD). The purpose of any ergonomic intervention can be to improve worker comfort, safety and/or productivity. The ergonomic research in secondary prevention typically focuses outcomes on improved worker comfort but less if any emphasis has been put on productivity and safety. The purpose of this study was to determine the level and quality of evidence supporting ergonomic interventions to improve the comfort, safety and/or productivity of office workers with symptoms of MSDs. A search of the ergonomic intervention literature based on MSDs of four body areas (low back, upper limb, eye and neck) was employed. The studies underwent two levels of analysis for inclusion in a best-evidence synthesis approach, which included a priori evaluation of specific interventions relative to outcomes of comfort, safety and/or productivity. Twenty-seven out of 202 articles were synthesized based on relevance, quality and significant results. Only 8 articles were determined high quality and no strong levels of evidence were identified. Levels of evidence for specific ergonomic interventions ranged from insufficient to moderate. Generally outcomes were focused mostly on improved comfort of workers. There is still limited quality research that addresses ergonomic interventions designed for secondary prevention. Further high quality studies are needed to support evidence-based ergonomic interventions in practice. For all stakeholders to fully evaluate the usefulness of the ergonomic intervention studies need to attend to outcomes not only of worker comfort but also to productivity and safety.

Occupancy implications of spatial, indoor-environmental, and organizational features of office spaces

The quality of office spaces has been said to have a significant effect on the health, comfort, satisfaction, and productivity of office workers. Numerous studies and projects aim at documenting the postulated impact of office space quality on occupancy factors. Nonetheless, there is a need for further systematic research efforts and reliable empirical data in this area. This paper presents a study of a number of architectural offices in Vienna, Austria. Data pertaining to certain spatial and indoor-climatic features of these offices was collected via observation and snap-shot measurements. Simultaneously, an occupancy evaluation was performed via interviews with professionals who work in these offices. The observations and evaluations addressed the relationship between the workplace and the outdoor environment, the layout and refurbishment of the workplace, the technical infrastructure of the workplace, the communication patterns in the workplace, and the thermal, visual, and acoustical indoor climate. The “subjective” evaluations were compared with the “objective” measures of workplace architecture and indoor climate.

Effects of lensed-indirect and parabolic lighting on the satisfaction, visual health, and productivity of office workers.

A pre- and post-renovation survey evaluated the reactions of office workers to two office lighting systems: a parabolic downlighting system and a ceiling suspended, lensed-indirect uplighting system. Questionnaire data on work content, perception of ambient environmental conditions (including office lighting), work-related health symptoms, job stress, job satisfaction, and self-reported productivity, and environmental data on illumination, air temperature, and relative humidity were collected. The lensed-indirect lighting system was more favourably rated on several subjective lighting impressions scales, and for computer work workers reported fewer screen glare problems, and fewer and less frequent problems with tired eyes and eye focusing. Productivity was less hindered by the lensed-indirect lighting, and satisfaction with office lighting and ratings of lighting quality were significantly higher for this system. These reactions were not associated with any differences in levels of illumination between the lighting systems. Ratings of lighting satisfaction and lighting importance were inversely related. Overall, some two-thirds of workers indicated a preference for working under the lensed-indirect lighting system.