| Abstract | Open-plan offices are notorious for their unpopularity with occupants. Among the most common anecdotal complaints are problems with distraction and inadequate privacy. As part of the Cost-effective Open-Plan Environments project, a field study was conducted to examine the relationships between measured physical conditions and occupant satisfaction with those conditions. A total of 779 workstations in nine buildings were visited. Lighting, acoustic, thermal and air movement conditions were recorded along with descriptive data about workstation size, partition height, and other characteristics. Occupants completed a 27-item questionnaire simultaneously with the measurements in their own workstations. The questionnaire covered satisfaction with individual features of the workstation, the environment overall, and the job, the rank ordered importance of seven physical features, and basic demographic characteristics. A mail-back questionnaire was provided to allow for longer comments about likes and dislikes.This report concerns the effects of workstation physical conditions on five aspects of satisfaction: satisfaction with privacy and acoustics; satisfaction with lighting; satisfaction with ventilation; overall environmental satisfaction, and job satisfaction. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses controlled for age, job type, and gender first; then examined the effects of workstation characteristics and additional physical variables. Separate nonparametric analyses were conducted for the rank order data, and the text comments were transcribed and characterized. |
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