A field study (N = 62) is reported comparing two industries that had comparably high noise levels during the pretest phase; one of the two factories was subsequently moved to a new site with strongly reduced noise levels, whereas the control industry remained in the same building as during pretesting. The main prediction was that the reduction of noise in the experimental organization would lead to greater environmental satisfaction, greater job satisfaction, reduced stress symptoms, reduced difficulty of communication, a more positive company image, and greater attachment to the company. No changes from pretest to posttest were expected in the control industry for any of these variables. The hypotheses were fully confirmed, suggesting that environmental conditions reliably affect not only the worker’s physical and psychological well-being but also organizationally relevant variables such as image of and attachment to the company, which have largely been ignored by previous research.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Avanzi, M. , Berardi, G., & Bortolotti, P. G. (1996). Esperienze pluriennali di valutazione nelle diverse realtà produttive [Long-term experiences in the evaluation of diverse production sites]. Paper presented at the 24th National Conference of the Associazione Italiana di Acustica, Trento, Italy.
2.
Bell, P. A. , Fisher, J. D., Baum, A., & Greene, T. C. (1996). Environmental psychology. Fort Worth, TX: Harcourt BraceCollege.
3.
Bergstrom, B. , & Nystrom, B. (1986). Development of hearing loss during exposure to occupational noise: A 20 year follow-up study. Scandinavian Audiology, 15, 227-234.
4.
Bronzaft, A. L. , Ahern, K. D., McGinn, F., O’Connor, J., & Savino, B. (1997). Aircraft noise: A potential health hazard. Environment & Behavior, 30, 101-113.
5.
Codice etico della ricerca e dell'insegnamento in psicologia [Ethics code of research and teaching in psychology]. (n.d.). Available online at www.aipass.org.
6.
Cohen, S. , Evans, G. W., Stokols, D., & Krantz, D. S. (1986). Behavior, health, and environmental stress. New York: Plenum.
7.
Donnerstein, E. , & Wilson, D. W. (1976). Effects of noise and perceived control on ongoing and subsequent aggressive behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 34, 774-781.
8.
Evans, G. W. , Bullinger, M., & Hygge, S. (1998). Chronic noise exposure and physiological response: A prospective study of children living under environmental stress. Psychological Science, 9, 75-77.
9.
Evans, G. W. , Hygge, S., & Bullinger, M. (1995). Chronic noise and psychological stress. Psychological Science, 6, 333-338.
10.
Evans, G. W. , & Johnson, D. (2000). Stress and open-office noise. Journal of Applied Psychology, 85, 779-783.
11.
Ferguson, G. S. (1983). Employee satisfaction with the office environment: Evaluation of a causal model. EDRA: Environmental Design Research Association, 14, 120-128.
12.
Haines, M. M. , Stansfeld, S. A., Job, R.F.S, Berglund, B., & Head, J. (2001). Chronic aircraft noise exposure, stress responses, mental health and cognitive performance in school children. Psychological Medicine, 31, 265-277.
13.
Hetu, R. (1993). Mismatches between auditory demands and capacities in the industrial work environment. Audiology, 33, 1-14.
14.
Hetu, R. , & Getty, L. (1993). Overcoming difficulties experienced in the work place by employees with occupational hearing loss. Volta Review, 95, 391-402.
15.
Kjellberg, A. (1990). Subjective, behavioral and psychophysiological effects of noise. Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment, and Health, 16, 29-38.
16.
Kjellberg, A. , Landstroem, U., Tesarz, M., Soederberg, L., & Akerlund, E. (1996). The effects of nonphysical noise characteristics, ongoing task and noise sensitivity on annoyanceand distraction dueto noiseat work. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 16, 123-136.
17.
Klitzman, S. , & Stellman, J. M. (1989). The impact of the physical environment on the psychological well-being of office workers. Social Science and Medicine, 29, 733-742.
18.
Kovrigin, S. D. , & Mikheyev, A. P. (1965). The effects of noise level on working efficiency. Washington, DC: Joint Publications Research Service.
19.
Kristensen, T. S. (1989). Cardiovascular diseases and the work environment: A critical review of the epidemiologic literature on non-chemical factors. Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment, and Health, 15, 165-179.
20.
Kryter, K. D. (1990). Aircraft noise and social factors in psychiatric hospital admission rates: A re-examination of some data. Psychological-Medicine, 20, 395-411.
21.
Kryter, K. D. (1994). The handbook of hearing and the effects of noise: Physiology, psychology, and public health. San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
22.
Levy-Leboyer, C. (1989). Noise effects on two industrial tasks. Work and Stress, 3, 315-322.
23.
Mathews, K. E. , & Cannon, L. K. (1975). Environmental noise level as determinant of helping behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 32, 571-577.
24.
Melamed, S. , Rabinowitz, S., & Green, M. S. (1994). Noise exposure, noise annoyance, use of hearing protection devices and distress among blue-collar workers. Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment, and Health, 20, 294-200.
25.
Miller, J. D. (1974). Effects of noise on people. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 56, 729-764.
26.
Mital, A. , McGlothlin, J. D., & Faard, H. F. (1992). Noise in multiple-workstation open-plan computer rooms: Measurements and annoyance. Journal of Human Ergology, 21, 69-82.
27.
Morata, T. C. , Dunn, D. E., Kretschmer, L. W., Lemaster, G. K., & Keith, R. W. (1993). Effects of occupational exposureto organic solvents and noiseon hearing. Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment, and Health, 19, 245-254.
28.
Nemecek, J. , & Grandjean, E. (1973). Results of an ergonomic investigation of large-space offices. Human Factors, 15, 111-124.
29.
Noweir, M. H. (1984). Noise exposure as related to productivity, disciplinary actions, absenteeism, and accidents among textile workers. Journal of Safety Research, 15, 163-174.
30.
Pelletier, L. G. , Legault, L. R., & Tuson, K. M. (1996). The environmental satisfaction scale: A measure of satisfaction with local environmental conditions and government environmental policies. Environment & Behavior, 28, 5-26.
31.
Poustka, F. , Eckermann, P., & Schmeck, K. (1992). Effect of aircraft noise and psychosocial stressors on mental disturbances of children and adolescents: An epidemiological survey in Westphalia. In H. Remschmidt & M. H. Schmidt (Eds.), Developmental psychopathology. Child and youth psychiatry: European perspectives (Vol. 2, pp. 83-96). Kirkland, WA: Hogrefe & Huber.
32.
Rishi, P. , Sinha, S. P., & Dubey, R. (2000). A correlational study of workplace characteristic and work satisfaction among Indian bank employees. Psychologia: An International Journal of Psychology in the Orient, 43, 155-164.
33.
Schick, A. (1994). Traffic noise in Germany 1994: Non-acoustical effects of traffic noise. Invited lecture in the Plenary Meeting for Public Health Groups, Oldenburg, Germany.
34.
Smith, A. P. , & Jones, D. M. (1992). Noise and performance. In D. M. Jones & A. P. Smith (Eds.), Handbook of human performance (Vol. 1, pp. 1-28). London: Harcourt BraceJovanovich.
35.
Stansfield, S. A. (1993). Noise, noise sensitivity and psychiatric disorder: Epidemiological and psychophysiological studies. Psychological Medicine, Mono Supplement, 22, 44-44.
36.
Stansfield, S. A. , Sharp, D. S., Gallacher, J., & Babisch, W. (1993). Road traffic noise, noise sensitivity and psychological disorder. Psychological Medicine, 23, 977-985.
37.
Sundstrom, E. , Town, J. P., Rice, R. W., Osborn, D. P., & Brill, M. (1994). Office noise, satisfaction, and performance. Environment & Behavior, 26, 195-222.
38.
Tafalla, R. J. , & Evans, G. W. (1997). Noise, physiology, and human performance: The potential roleof effort. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 2, 148-155.
39.
Tomei, F. , Tomao, E., Papaleo, B., Baccolo, T. P., Cirio, A. M., & Alfi, P. (1995). Epidemiological and clinical study of subjects occupationally exposed to noise. International Journal of Angiology, 4, 117-121.
40.
Wener, R. (1989). Advances in evaluation of the built environment. In E. H. Zube & G. T. Moore (Eds.), Advances in environment, behavior, and design (Vol. 2, pp. 287-313). New York: Plenum.
