State-of-the-art research in the field is reviewed with emphasis on the impacts of physical environmental quality on worker satisfaction and job performance. The review focuses on three main topic areas: physical comfort and task instrumentality, privacy and social interaction, and symbolic identification. Within each topic area, recommendations are made for planning and design. The article concludes with a discussion of emerging issues in office design and evaluation, including the effects of technological advances on worker satisfac tion and performance.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
ALLEN, T. J. and P. G. GERSTBERGER (1973) "A field experiment to improve communication in a product engineering department: the nonterritorial office."Human Factors15: 487-498.
2.
ALTMAN, I. (1975) The Environment and Social Behavior. Belmont, CA: Wads worth.
3.
ARGYRIS, C. (1964) Integrating the Individual and the Organization. New York: John Wiley.
4.
ARNOLD, M. (1967) "Stress and emotion," in M. H. Appley and R. Trumbull (eds.) Psychological Stress. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
5.
ASTON, S. M. and H. E. BELLCHAMBERS (1969) "Illumination, colour render ing and visual clarity."Lighting Research and Technology1, 4: 259-261.
6.
BLADWIN, D. (1976) "Caution: office zone."Job Safety and Health (Feburary): 4-12.
7.
BARNABY, J. F. (1980) "Lighting for productivity gains."Lighting Design & Application (February): 20-28.
8.
BECHTEL, R. (1977) Enclosing Behavior. Stroudsburg, PA: Dowden, Hutchinson and Ross.
9.
BEDFORD, T. (1961) "Researches on thermal comfort."Ergonomics4: 289-310.
10.
BELL, P. A. (forthcoming) "Physiological comfort, performance, and social ef fects of heat stress," in G. Evans (ed.) Environmental Stress. New York: Cambridge Univ. Press.
11.
BERRY, K. J. (1966) "Status integration and morbidity." Ph.D. dissertation, University of Oregon.
12.
BOBELE, H. K. and P. J. BUCHANAN (1979) "Building a more productive environment."Management World (January): 8-10.
13.
BOYCE, P. R. (1974) "User's assessments of a landscaped office."J. of Archi tectural Research3, 3: 44-62.
14.
BROOK, A. (1973) "Mental stress at work."Practitioner210: 500-506.
15.
BROOKES, M. J. and A. KAPLAN (1972) "The office environment: space plan ning and affective behavior."Human Factors14: 373-391.
16.
BUCK, V. (1972) Working Under Pressure. London: Staples.
17.
BURANDT, M. and E. GRANDJEAN (1963) "Sitting habits of office employees."Ergonomics6: 217-228.
18.
CAKIR, A. , D. J. HART, and T.F.M. STEWART (1980) Video Display Terminals. New York: John Wiley.
19.
CAPLAN, R. D. , S. COBB, J.R.P. FRENCH, Jr., R. V. HARRISON, and S. R. PIN NEAU, Jr. (1975) Job Demands and Worker Health. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.
20.
CARLSTAM, G. , C. G. KARLSSON, and L. LEVI (1973) "Stress and disease in response to noise."Proceedings of the International Congress on Noise as a Public Health Problem. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.
21.
COHEN, S. (1978) "Environmental load and the allocation of attention," in A. Baum et al. (eds.) Advances in Environmental Psychology (Vol. 1). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
22.
COHEN, S. and N. WEINSTEIN (forthcoming) "Nonauditory effects of noise on be havior and health," in Environmental Stress. New York: Cambridge Univ. Press.
23.
CONRATH, D. W. (1973) "Communication patterns, organizational structure and man: some relationships."Human Factors15: 459-470.
24.
COOPER, C. L. (1973) Group Training for Individual and Organizational Devel opment. Basel, Switzerland: S. Karger.
25.
COOPER, C. L. and J. MARSHALL (1978) "Sources of managerial and white collar stress," in C. L. Cooper and R. Payne (eds.) Stress at Work. New York: John Wiley.
26.
COX, T. (1980) "Repetitive work," in C. L. Cooper and R. Payne (eds.) Current Concerns in Occupational Stress. New York: John Wiley.
27.
CROUCH, C. L. (1978) "Lighting for seeing," in G. C. Clayton and F. E. Clayton (eds.) Patty's Industrious Hygiene and Toxicology (Vol. 1). New York: John Wiley.
28.
DAINOFF, M. J. (1981) Occupational Stress Factors in Video Display Terminal (VDT) Operation: A Review of Empirical Research. Cincinnati, OH: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.
29.
DAINOFF, M. J. (1979) Occupational Stress Factors in Secretarial/Clerical Works: Annotated Research Bibliography and Analytic Review. Cincinnati, OH: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.
30.
DAVIS, G. and I. ALTMAN (1976) "Territories at the work-place: theory into design guidelines."Man-Environment Systems6: 46-53.
31.
DUFFY, F. (1969) "Role and status in the office."Architectural Assn. Q.1: 4-13.
32.
DUFFY, F. C. CAVE , and J. WORTHINGTON (1976) Planning Office Space. London: Architectural Press.
33.
ELDER, J. and R. L. TIBBOTT (1981) User Acceptance of an Energy Efficient Of fice Building-A Study of the Norris Cotton Federal Office Building. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.
34.
ELDER, J. , G. E. TURNER, and A. I. RUBIN (1979) Post-Occupancy Evaluation: A Case Study of the Evaluation Process. Washington, DC: Government Print ing Office.
35.
ERIKSON, J. , D. EDWARDS, and E. K. GUNDERSON (1973) "Status congruency and mental health."Psych. Reports33: 395-401.
36.
ERIKSON, J. , W. M. PUGH and E. K. GUNDERSON (1973) "Status congruency as a predictor of job satisfaction and life stress."J. of Applied Psychology56: 523-525.
37.
EVANS, G. W. (1979a) "Behavioral and physiological consequences of crowd ing in humans."J. of Applied Social Psychology9: 27-46.
38.
EVANS, G. W. (1979b) "Design implications of spatial research," in J. Aiello and A. Baum (eds.) Residential Crowding and Design. New York: Plenum.
39.
EVANS, G. W. and S. V. JACOBS (forthcoming) "Air pollution and human behavior," in G. Evans (ed.) Environmental Stress. New York: Cambridge Univ. Press.
40.
FARRENKOPF, T. and V. ROTH (1980) "The university faculty office as an envi ronment."Environment and Behavior12: 467-477.
41.
FLYNN, J. E. (1977) "The effects of light source color on user impression and satisfaction."J. of Illuminating Engineering Society6, 3: 167-179.
42.
FRANKENHAUSER, M. (1978) "Coping with job stress: a psychobiological approach." Report from the Department of Psychology, University of Stock holm.
43.
FRENCH, J.R.P., Jr. and R. D. CAPLAN (1973) "Organizational stress and indi vidual strain," in A. J. Marrow (ed.) The Failure of Success. New York: AMACOM.
44.
FRENCH, J.R.P., Jr. and R. D. CAPLAN (1970) "Psychosocial factors in coronary heart disease."Industrial Medicine39: 383-397.
45.
GALITZ, W. O. (1980) Human Factors in Office Automation. Atlanta, GA: Life Office Management Association.
46.
GLASS, D. C. and J. E. SINGER (1972) Urban Stress: Experiments on Noise and Social Stressors. New York: Academic Press.
47.
GOODRICH, R. (1979) How People Perceive Their Office Environment. New York: Citibank.
48.
HALL, E. T. (1966) The Hidden Dimension. Garden City, NY: Doubleday.
49.
HALLORAN, J. (1978) Applied Human Relations: An Organizational Approach. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
50.
HARDY, A. C. (1974) "A case for reduced window areas."Int. Lighting Rev.25, 3: 90-92.
51.
HARRISON R. V. (1978) "Person-environment fit and job stress," in C. L. Cooper and R. Payne (eds.) Stress at Work. New York: John Wiley.
52.
HAYNES, S. G. and M. FEINLEIB (1980) "Women, work and coronary heart disease: prospective findings from the Framingham Heart Study."Amer. J. of Public Health70, 2: 133-141.
53.
HOUSE, J. S. and J. A. WELLS (1978) "Occupational stress and health," in A. McLean (ed.) Reducing Occupational Stress. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.
54.
HUGHES, P. C. (1981) "School lighting for the total person: A psychobiological approach."Council of Educational Facility Planners J. (March-April): 4-6.
55.
HUGHES, P. C. , J. F. BARNABY, and J. F. McNELIS (1980) "Lighting for productivity approach."Council of Educational Facility Planners J. (March-April): 4-6.
56.
HUNDERT, A. T. and N. GREENFIELD (1969) "Physical space and organizational behavior: a study of office landscape."Proceedings of 77th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association1: 601-602.
57.
KAHN, R. L. and J.R.P. FRENCH (1970) "Status and conflict: two themes in the study of stress," in J. McGrath (ed.) Social and Psychological Factors in Stress. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.
58.
KAHN, R. L. , D. M. WOLFE, R. P. QUINN, J. D. SNOEK, and R. S. ROSENTHAL (1964) Organizational Stress. New York: John Wiley.
59.
KARASEK, R. A., Jr. (1979) "Job demands, job decision latitude and mental strain: implications for job redesign."Admin. Sci. Q.24: 285-308.
60.
KASL, S. V. (1973) "Mental health and the work environment."J. of Occupational Medicine15: 509-518.
61.
KASL, S. V. and S. COBB (1967) "Effects of parental status incongruence and dis crepancy in physical and mental health of adult offspring."J. of Personality and Social Psychology Monograph7(Whole no. 642): 1-15.
62.
KONAR, E. , D. MANDEL, C. BRADY, and E. SUNDSTROM (forthcoming) "Environmental correlates of perceived status support, work space, and job satis faction."Environment and Behavior.
63.
Kraemer, Sieverts & Partners , (1977) Open-Plan Offices (J. L. Ritchie, trans.). New York: McGraw-Hill.
64.
KROEMER, E.K.H. (1971) "Seating in plant and office."Amer. Industrial Hygiene Assn. J.32: 633-652.
65.
LANDY, F. J. and D. A. TRUMBO (1976) Psychology of Work Behavior. Home wood, IL: Dorsey.
66.
LAWRENCE, P. R. and J. W. LORSCH (1967) Organization and Environment: Managing Differentiationi and Integration. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Univ. Press.
67.
LAZARUS, R. S. (1967) "Cognitive and personality factors underlying threat and coping," in M. H. Appley and R. Trumball (eds.) Psychological Stress. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
68.
Louis Harris and Associates (1980) The Steelcase National Study of Office Environments, No. 11: Comfort and Productivity in the Office of the 80's. Grand Rapids, Ml: Steelcase, Inc. Louis Harris and Associates
69.
Louis Harris and Associates (1978) The Steelcase National Study of Office Environments: Do They Work?Grand Rapids, Ml: Steelcase, Inc.
70.
LUCEY, J. F. (1973) "The effects of light on the new born infant."J. of Perinatal Medicine1, 3: 147-152.
71.
MAAS, J. B. , J. K. JAYSON, and D. A. KLEIBER (1974) "Effects of spectral dif ference in illumination on fatigue."J. of Applied Psychology59: 524-526.
72.
MANDLER, G. and D. L. WATSON (1966) "Anxiety and the interruption of be havior," in C. P. Spielberger (ed.) Anxiety and Behavior. New York: Academic Press.
73.
MANNING, P. [ed.] (1965) Office Design: A Study of Environment. Liverpool: Univ. of Liverpool Press.
74.
MARGOLIS, B. L. , W. H. KROES, and R. P. QUINN (1974) "Job stress: an un ventional office design."Environment and Behavior14: xxx-xxx.
75.
MARGOLIS, B. L. , W. H. KROES, and R. P. QUINN (1974) "Job stress: an un listed occupational hazard."J. of Occupational Medicine16: 659-661.
76.
McGRATH, J. E. (1976) "Stress and behavior in organizations," in M. D. Dunnette (ed.) Handbook of Industrial and Organizational Psychology. Skokie, IL: Rand McNally.
77.
McGRATH, J. E. (1970) "A conceptual formulation for research on stress," in J. E. McGrath (ed.) Social and Psychological Factors in Stress. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.
78.
MEHRABIAN, A. and J. A. RUSSELL (1974) An Approach to Environmental Psy chology. Cambridge: MIT Press.
79.
National Research Council Committee on Indoor Pollutants (1981) Indoor Pol lutants. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
80.
NE'EMAN, E. and R. G. HOPKINSON (1970) "Critical minimum acceptable window size, a study of window design and provision of a view."Lighting Research and Technology2: 17-27.
81.
NEER, R. M. , T.R.A. DAVIS, A. WALCOTT, S. KOSKI, P. SCHAPIS, I. TAYLOR, L. THORINGTON, and R. J. WURTMAN (1971) "Stimulation by artificial lighting of calcium absorption in elderly human subjects."Nature229: 255-255.
82.
NEMECEK, J. and E. GRANDJEAN (1973) "Results of an ergonomic investiga tion of large-space offices."Human Factors15: 111-124.
83.
OLDHAM, G. R. and D. J. BRASS (1979) "Employee reactions to an open-plan office: a naturally occurring quasi-experiment."Admin. Sci. Q.24: 267-284.
84.
OSTBERG, O. (1975) "CRT's pose health problems for operators."Int. J. of Occupational Health & Safety44, 6: 24-26, 50-50, 52-52.
85.
PARSONS, H. M. (1976) "Work environments," in I. Altman and J. F. Wohlwill (eds.) Human Behavior and Environment: Advances in Theory and Research (Vol.1). New York: Plenum.
86.
RADLOFF, R. and R. HELMREICH (1967) Men Under Stress. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
87.
RISSLER, A. and A. ELGEROT (1978) Stressreaktioner vid overtidsarbete (Stress reactions related to overtime at work). Report, Department of Psychology, University of Stockholm.
88.
SAEGERT, S. (1975) "Stress-inducing and reducing qualities of environments," in H. M. Proshansky et al. (eds.) Environmental Psychology. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.
89.
SHERROD, D. R. (1974) "Crowding, perceived control, and behavioral after effects."J. of Applied Social Psychology4: 171-186.
90.
SMITH, M. J. , M. J. COLLIGAN, and J. J. HURREL, Jr. (1978) "A review of NIOSH psychological stress research-1977," in U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Occupational Stress. Washington, DC: Government Print ing Office.
91.
SMITH, M. J. , A. HAPP, L. STAMMERJOHN, and B. COHEN (1981) An Investi gation of Complaints and Job Stress in Video Display Operations. Cincinnati, OH: Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.
92.
SPRINGER, T. J. (1980) "Visual display units in the office environment: bless ings or curses?" Presented at Human Factors in Industrial Design in Con sumer Products Conference, Tufts University, May.
93.
Stansaab Electronik AB (1978) "The human aspects of office and display light ing."Datapro Automated Office Solutions (October).
94.
STEELE, F. I. (1973) Physical Settings and Organizational Development. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
95.
STELLMAN, J. M. (1977) Women's Work, Women's Health. New York: Pan theon.
96.
SUNDSTROM, E. , R. BURT, and D. KAMP (1980) "Privacy at work: architectural correlates of job satisfaction and job performance."Academy & Manage ment J.23: 101-117.
97.
SUNDSTROM, E. and M. G. SUNDSTROM (n.d.) Workplaces: The Psychology of of the Physical Environment in Organizations. Manuscript in preparation.
98.
TICHAUER, E. R. (1973) "Ergonomic aspects of biomechanics."The Industrial Environment: Its Evaluation and Control. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.
99.
TICHAUER, E. R. (1967) "Industrial engineering in the rehabilitation of the handicapped."Proceedings of 18th Annual American Institute Conference and Convention, American Institute of Industrial Engineers, May.
100.
VOGL, T. P. (1976) "Photomedicine."Optical News (Spring).
101.
WAHLUND, I. and G. NERRELL (1978) "Stress factors in the working environ ments of white-collar workers," in A. McLean (ed.) Reducing Occupational Stress. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.
102.
WEICK, K. E. (1970) "The 'Ess' in stress: some conceptual and methodological problems," in J. McGrath (ed.) Social and Psychological Factors in Stress. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.
103.
WEISS, J. M. (1972) "Psychological factors in stress and disease."Scientific Amer.226, 6: 104-113.
104.
WELLS, B. (1965) "Subjective responses to the lighting installation in a modern office building and their design implications."Building Sci.1: 57-67.
105.
WESTIN, A. (1970) Privacy and Freedom. New York: Atheneum.
106.
WHEELER, L. (1969) The Office Environment. Chicago: Interior Space Designers Inc.
107.
WILLIAMS, H. G. (1975) "High pressure sodium lighting in offices for reduced energy use."Industry Applications Society (IAS) Meeting81-87.
108.
WINEMAN, J. (forthcoming) "The office environment as a source of stress," in G. Evans (ed.) Environmental Stress. New York: Cambridge Univ. Press.
109.
WINEMAN, J. (1981) "Office evaluation research: issues and applications." Presented at the Center for Building Technology Federal Workshop Series on Building Science and Technology, "The office as a work environment: the measure ment and evaluation of performance."Gaithersburg, MD: National Bureau of Standards, February.
110.
WINEMAN, J. (1978) "Building evaluation research: lighting evaluation." Research report prepared for Applied Environmental Research Division of Smith. Hinchman & Grylls, Ann Arbor, MI, February.
111.
Working Women (1981) Warning: Health Hazards for Office Workers-An Overview of Problems and Solutions in Occupational Health in the Office. Cleveland, OH: Working Women Education Fund.
112.
WURTMAN, R. J. (1975) "The effects of light on the human body."Scientific Amer.233: 68-77.
113.
ZEITLIN, L. R. (1969) A Comparison of Employee Attitudes Toward the Conven tional and the Landscaped Office. New York: Port of New York Authority.
