Office Type Research Articles

Office type's association to employees' welfare: Three studies.

The workplace is important for employees' daily life and well-being. This article investigates exploratory the office design's role for employees' welfare from different perspectives. By comparing different studies of the office, type's influence on different factors of employees' welfare the aim is to see if any common patterns exist in office design's impact. The three included studies investigate office type's association with employees' welfare by measuring its influence on: a) perception of leadership, b) sick leave, and c) job satisfaction.The sample consists of office employees from a large, national representative work environment survey that work in one of the seven identified office types in contemporary office design: (1) cell-offices; (2) shared-room offices; (3) small, (4) medium-sized and (5) large open-plan offices; (6) flex-offices and (7) combi-offices. Statistical method used is multivariate logistic and linear regression analysis with adjustment for background factors. Overall results show that shared-room office, traditional open plan offices and flex-office stand out negatively, but to different degree(s) on the different outcomes measured. This explorative comparison of different studies finds a pattern of office types that repeatedly show indications of negative influence on employees' welfare, but further studies are needed to clarify this.

English

Successful farmers’ groups can play a major role in the rural development and food security needs of Caribbean communities. The lack of permanency of these groups, however, has provided the basis for numerous challenges with respect to their effectiveness in promoting sustainable agriculture in the Caribbean. This study attempts to identify what may be one barrier to farmers’ group stability in Trinidad, namely a ‘disconnection’ between the thinking of group members and that of the extension officers who serve them. Two focus group sessions and two structured survey instruments, administered by the researchers, were used to capture the perceptions related to farmers’ groups from extension officers (N=123) and farmers’ group members (N=293) in Trinidad. The structured survey instruments captured responses on an interval scale which returned scores at 1-unit intervals from ‘0’ (no agreement) to ‘5’ (full agreement) for the intensity of a respondent’s agreement with several item statements. The study revealed that there are gaps between the levels and types of service extension officers believe they provide to farmers’ groups and the support and interaction farmers feel they receive from agricultural extension in Trinidad.    Key words: Extension officers, farmers, agricultural extension, group dynamics, focus groups, structured surveys.

Identifying correlates of breaks in occupational sitting: a cross-sectional study

Office workers are commonly targeted in interventions to modify their sitting behaviour, yet there is limited evidence of the correlates of breaks in sitting to inform intervention development. This study identifies the individual, workplace and spatial configuration correlates of the frequency of breaks in sitting (number/hour) in office workers (n = 5531) stratified by office type (private-enclosed, shared, open plan). All behaviours and potential correlates were measured via self-report using an online cross-sectional survey. Regression analyses revealed age was the only socio-demographic characteristic associated with frequency of breaks in sitting in all office types. Greater job autonomy and local connectivity were positively associated with frequency of breaks in sitting in shared and open-plan offices. In open-plan offices co-worker proximity was negatively associated with frequency of breaks in sitting. Co-worker visibility was positively associated with frequency of breaks in sitting in all office types. This study demonstrates that individual, workplace and spatial configuration factors are all associated with the frequency of breaks in sitting and that these relationships differ by office type. These observations extend prior studies that have only examined correlates at a single level (e.g. the individual). This evidence could be useful to guide future interventions in the design of workplaces to increase breaks in sitting and workers’ physical activity.

The association between office design and performance on demanding cognitive tasks

The physical office environment has been shown to be associated with indicators of both health and performance. This study focuses on how memory performance is affected in normal working conditions compared to a quiet baseline (with low amount irrelevant stimuli) in different office types, including cell offices, small open-plan offices, medium-sized open-plan offices and large open-plan offices. The results showed that the drop in performance from the quiet baseline to normal working conditions was higher in larger, compared to smaller, open-plan offices. However, contrary to our hypothesis we found that cell offices might have negative effects on performance comparable to those of large open-plan offices. These results indicate that employees in small open-plan offices, in comparison to large, have better possibilities to conduct cognitively demanding tasks and that cell offices might not be as advantageous as previously thought.

Many disorderly youths, few serious incidents

This paper presents fieldwork on police–citizen interactions in a setting of (latent) friction with ethnically diverse populations. Often, the police are frustrated with disorderly youngsters hanging out on streets and squares. Contrary to what was anticipated, however, escalation occurred only sporadically. Patrol officers were most keen on traffic control and order maintenance and, in so doing, dealt most frequently with youngsters from minority groups. Community officers played a more socially engaged role, but were less willing and able to gain access to such groups. Taken together, both types of officers managed to preserve sensible contacts with ethnic minority populations due to their professionalism in regulating emotions and their realisation that overly harsh police action would make things worse.

The relation between office type and workplace conflict: A gender and noise perspective

This exploratory study aimed to investigate the impact of the office design on workplace conflicts, with a special attention to noise in the office. A gender perspective was applied. The sample consisted of 5229 employees from the Swedish Longitudinal Occupational Survey of Health 2010 (SLOSH), working in different office types. In the multivariate analysis office type was used as the explanatory variable with adjustments for age, supervisory position and labour market sector. Analysis stratified for gender was used. Among women a significant impact of office type per se on workplace conflicts was found, but not among men. For women several office types differed significantly from the cell-office with regard to prevalence of conflicts during the past two years, but for men only the combi-office differed from the cell-office. Noise had an impact on workplace conflicts, but is not the only explanatory factor since the effect of office type remained also after adjustment for noise in multivariate analyses. Other environmental factors inherent in the office type might thus explain the occurrence of conflicts.

School Violence and School Coexistence Management: Unresolved Challenges

The study analyzes the key management actions for the prevention and reduction of school violence in educational centers belonging to the three types of administrative offices found in the Chilean school system. The methodology is quantitative with a descriptive cross-sectional design. The Questionnaire for School Environments of Non-violence (CENVI) was applied to a sample of 1410 students, 10-14 years of age. The results show a descriptive analysis that reveals the strengths and weaknesses of the management for the prevention of violence. Recommendations are given in the areas of training, peaceful co-existence and participation to promote a healthy learning environment in schools.

Electoral institutions, gender stereotypes, and women's local representation

Despite dramatic progress in winning election to political office, women remain underrepresented at all levels of government in the USA. A great deal of research has focused on institutional barriers to equal representation, particularly at the city level. Yet, the findings have been inconsistent across studies and little attention has been paid to the possible mechanisms that might account for the relationships between institutions and representation. In this paper, we focus on one particularly well-studied institution – the method of election for city councilors. We use a decade of candidate-level data from a single, large state (California) to show that women are significantly advantaged in district (versus at-large) elections and in city clerkships compared with mayoralties and council positions. We suggest that this may be the result of the competitiveness of elections, the status of the offices, and gender stereotypes. We offer support for this argument by analyzing the proportion of women elected to city councils and the probability of victory for different types of offices including city council, mayor, and city clerk.

Effects of office environment on employee satisfaction: a new analysis

Two large and detailed field studies of the effect of office environment parameters on aspects of environmental and job satisfaction were conducted. The first study focused on open-plan offices in nine conventional buildings, whereas the second encompassed open-plan and private offices in 24 buildings (12 green and 12 conventional). The data collection for these studies was separated by approximately a decade, but the data collection methods, contexts and analysis procedures were very similar. This offered the opportunity to compare the results of the studies at the workstation level, with the goal of identifying parameters consistent in affecting occupant satisfaction, and of exploring the effects of office type (open-plan versus private) and building type (green versus conventional). Satisfaction with acoustics and privacy was most strongly affected by workstation size and office type; satisfaction with lighting was most strongly affected by window access and glare conditions; and satisfaction with ventilation and temperature was most strongly affected by pollutant concentration. Occupants of green buildings rated all aspects of environmental satisfaction more highly. Finally, job satisfaction was most strongly affected by pollutant concentration and office type.

Physician practice competition and prices paid by private insurers for office visits.

Physician practice consolidation could promote higher-quality care but may also create greater economic market power that could lead to higher prices for physician services. To assess the relationship between physician competition and prices paid by private preferred provider organizations (PPOs) for 10 types of office visits in 10 prominent specialties. Retrospective study in 1058 US counties in urbanized areas, representing all 50 states, examining the relationship between measured physician competition and prices paid for office visits in 2010 and the relationship between changes in competition and prices between 2003 and 2010, using regression analysis to control for possible confounding factors. Variation in the mean Hirschman-Herfindahl Index (HHI) of physician practices within a county by specialty (HHIs range from 0, representing maximally competitive markets, to 10,000 in markets served by a single [monopoly] practice). Mean price paid by county to physicians in each specialty by private PPOs for intermediate office visits with established patients (Current Procedural Terminology [CPT] code 99213) and a price index measuring the county-weighted mean price for 10 types of office visits with new and established patients (CPT codes 99201-99205, 99211-99215) relative to national mean prices. In 2010, across all specialties studied, HHIs were 3 to 4 times higher in the 90th-percentile county than the 10th-percentile county (eg, for family practice: 10th percentile HHI = 1023 and 90th percentile HHI = 3629). Depending on specialty, mean price for a CPT code 99213 visit was between $70 and $75. After adjustment for potential confounders, depending on specialty, prices at the 90th-percentile HHI were between $5.85 (orthopedics; 95% CI, $3.46-$8.24) and $11.67 (internal medicine; 95% CI, $9.13-$14.21) higher than at the 10th percentile. Including all types of office visits, price indexes at the 90th-percentile HHI were 8.3% (orthopedics; 95% CI, 5.0%-11.6%) to 16.1% (internal medicine; 95% CI, 12.8%-19.5%) higher. Between 2003 and 2010, there were larger price increases in areas that were less competitive in 2002 than in initially more competitive areas. More competition among physicians is related to lower prices paid by private PPOs for office visits. These results may inform work on policies that influence practice competition.

Parents' goals for ADHD care in a clinical pediatric sample.

This report describes goals parents have for their children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) when coming for a pediatric visit. Data were collected from 441 parents of children presenting to either a primary care pediatric practice or a developmental behavioral pediatric practice. Parents were asked to report their top 1 or 2 goals for improvement for their children, and responses were coded into 17 categories. These categories were further grouped into 7 goal composites and examined in relation to demographic characteristics of the families, office type, and symptomology. Goals related to reducing symptoms of inattention were most common, but goals were heterogeneous in nature. Goals were meaningfully, but modestly, related to symptomology. In several instances, symptoms of comorbid conditions interacted with symptoms of ADHD in relation to specific goals being reported. Parents' goals extended beyond ADHD symptoms. Pediatricians need an array of resources to address parents' goals.

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Offered in this paper approach represents a new way related to contours definition of design office of companies combining process and design activity. We offer theoretically justified technology for a choice of the most adequate project management office format functioning on the basis of process and project management maturity definition when these two specified approaches are combined in the company. Such view on project office allows use process interventions in project management as the element, allowing make project management more flexible. Concepts of maturity, as well as main techniques (models) of process and project management maturity were considered during theoretical and methodological research. Besides, the main types of project office, functions classification, project office positions in management structure were analyzed.

The influence of office type on satisfaction and perceived productivity support

Purpose– The aim of this research is to determine whether the type of office environment has an impact on satisfaction with the office environment and productivity support.Design/methodology/approach– Three office types that are most common in The Netherlands were distinguished: individual and shared room offices, combi offices and flex offices. 11,799 respondents filled out a questionnaire measuring satisfaction with the work environment and its contribution to productivity.Findings– Regression analysis was used to investigate whether these factors were influenced by office type. Results show that office type is a significant predictor. While in combi and flex offices people can choose to work at diverse workspaces, people evaluate productivity support, concentration and privacy less positive than people working in individual and shared room offices. In combi offices, but not in flex offices, people are more satisfied with communication than in individual and shared room offices.Practical implications– Nevertheless, satisfaction with the organization explains the most variance with regard to satisfaction with the office environment and productivity support.Originality/value– In The Netherlands, there are a lot of office buildings with a combi or flexible office concept. The large dataset on which the comparison is based, is a real plus for the research.

Impacts of green certifications, ventilation and office types on occupant satisfaction with indoor environmental quality

One of the important reasons for the interest in green buildings is that the employees can benefit from healthy and productive work environments. This research aims to provide evidence that can affect design decisions by a literature review and an occupant survey. Three important design decisions (green certifications, ventilation types and office types) were investigated through a standard occupant survey in China. Highly rated green buildings could be effective to provide a comfortable, healthy and productive work environment. Mixed-mode ventilation (a hybrid approach to space conditioning that uses a combination of natural ventilation and mechanical systems) and high cubicles (open-plan offices with high partitions) are sensible choices for green buildings to achieve high environmental satisfactions.

Influence of factors unrelated to environmental quality on occupant satisfaction in LEED and non-LEED certified buildings

Occupant satisfaction in office buildings has been correlated to the indoor environmental quality of workspaces, but can also be influenced by factors distinct from conventional IEQ parameters such as building features, personal characteristics, and work-related variables. A previous study by the authors analyzed occupant satisfaction in LEED and non-LEED certified buildings on a subset of the Center for the Built Environment survey database featuring 21,477 responses from 144 buildings (65 LEED-rated). The data suggested that, when evaluated comprehensively, there is not a practically significant influence of LEED certification on occupant satisfaction. The aim of this paper is to investigate the impact on users' satisfaction in LEED and non-LEED certified buildings of factors unrelated to environmental quality, including consideration of office type, spatial layout, distance from window, building size, gender, age, type of work, time at workspace, and weekly working hours. The results show that such factors statistically significantly influence the difference in occupant satisfaction in LEED and non-LEED certified buildings, but the effect size of such variations is, for most, practically negligible. However, tendencies were found showing that LEED-rated buildings may be more effective in providing higher satisfaction in open spaces rather than in enclosed offices, in small rather than in large buildings, and to occupants having spent less than one year at their workspace rather than to users that have occupied their workplace for longer. The findings suggest that the positive value of LEED certification from the point of view of occupant satisfaction may tend to decrease with time.

Features of use of Ukrainian ornament in office decoration

The article considers the modern trends and design features of office in the Ukrainian national style. The most common types of Ukrainian office. Examples of styling individual items in the office, and finish ornament and рetrykivka painting that evolved over many centuries and have become an integral part of the Ukrainian style.

Concentration requirements modify the effect of office type on indicators of health and performance

This paper investigates the interaction between need for concentration on the job and six office types in relation to distraction, cognitive stress, emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, personal efficiency and general health. 1241 employees from five organizations participated in the study. Cell offices were associated with lower reported levels of distraction and cognitive stress, and flex offices with lower distraction, among the employees compared with all other open-plan office types. There were no significant differences in the outcome variables between different types of open-plan offices. However, there was an interaction between office type and the need for concentration for the job; employees in the high need for concentration group reported more distraction in all office types except in cell offices and also more cognitive stress in all office types except cell offices and flex offices. In conclusion, cell offices may be preferable for tasks that require higher need for concentrations.

Office design's impact on sick leave rates

The effect of office type on sickness absence among office employees was studied prospectively in 1852 employees working in (1) cell-offices; (2) shared-room offices; (3) small, (4) medium-sized and (5) large open-plan offices; (6) flex-offices and (7) combi-offices. Sick leaves were self-reported two years later as number of (a) short and (b) long (medically certified) sick leave spells as well as (c) total number of sick leave days. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used, with adjustment for background factors. A significant excess risk for sickness absence was found only in terms of short sick leave spells in the three open-plan offices. In the gender separate analysis, this remained for women, whereas men had a significantly increased risk in flex-offices. For long sick leave spells, a significantly higher risk was found among women in large open-plan offices and for total number of sick days among men in flex-offices. Practitioner Summary: A prospective study of the office environment's effect on employees is motivated by the high rates of sick leaves in the workforce. The results indicate differences between office types, depending on the number of people sharing workspace and the opportunity to exert personal control as influenced by the features that define the office types.

The Constitutional Ambitions of James Madison's Presidency

Following Richard Neustadt, scholarship on the presidency tends to focus on presidents as single‐minded seekers of political power. But, precisely because of the grandness of their political stage, presidents may, in fact, have constitutional ambitions concerning not how much power they will have but how they will wield their constitutional powers. James Madison's presidency provides an important case study of a president's constitutional ambitions. Entering office with constitutional concerns about the power of the presidency relative to the other branches, Madison used his own presidency and especially the War of 1812 to model a new type of constitutional office that he thought would fit better in the system of the separation of powers.

Japan^|^apos;s emerging challenge for child abuse: System coordination for early prevention of child abuse is needed

At the end of 2013, a Japanese newspaper reported that 4,173 children were unidentified or missing in Japan. The article concluded that child abuse was a matter of national concern. In examining the strengths and weaknesses of Japan's welfare system in regard to child abuse, it would seem that a weakness exists with regard to its ambiguity on the roles of different officers who contact suspected cases. Although three types of officer (health, welfare, and police officers) can take charge, child abuse cases might be missed because the division of labor varies between the different types of officer. However, a strength exists in the periodical pediatric health check system that is in place in each of Japan's 1,742 municipalities. To efficiently implement early intervention for child abuse, it is necessary to rearrange the division of labor among the three types of officers to clarify who should intervene in suspected cases.