Objective: To reassess previous observations regarding workplace design factors that have the greatest influence on employee perceptions of job satisfaction, and to extend the analysis to an investigation of the degree to which job satisfaction may be influenced by additional design factors. Background: Prior studies suggest that job satisfaction and occupancy quality are inextricably linked. A distinct focus of this work has been on the link between physical work environment quality and job satisfaction. Method: A 227-item survey was administered online to a total of 345 office workers employed in eight different office sites. The survey solicited respondent rankings of job satisfaction, and of levels of different attributes of occupancy quality. Results: Job satisfaction is positively correlated with productivity, and with overall employment, job, and organization quality, but not with age and with compensation and work station quality. Conclusion: Findings show mixed agreement with prior results, and also reveal new predictors of job satisfaction heretofore unrecognized. Application: Results should benefit employer decision-making regarding HF/E design interventions to improve office worker job satisfaction.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
BrandJ.L. (2008). Office ergonomics: a review of pertinent research and recent developments. In CarswellC.M. (Ed.), Reviews of Human Factors and Ergonomics (Chapter 7, pp. 245-282). Santa Monica, CA: Human Factors and Ergonomics Society.
2.
BrandJ.L.SmithT.J. (2005). Effects of reducing enclosure on perceptions of occupancy quality, job satisfaction, and job performance in open-plan offices. In Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 49th Annual Meeting (pp. 818-822). Santa Monica, CA: Human Factors and Ergonomics Society.
3.
LeamanA.BordassB. (1999). Productivity in buildings: the “killer” variables. Building Research & Information, 27(1), 4–19.
4.
NewshamG.BrandJ.DonnellyC.VeitchJ.AriesM.CharlesK. (2009). Linking indoor environment conditions to job satisfaction: a field study. Building Research & Information, 37(2), 129-147.
5.
SmithT.J. (1998). Context specificity in performance - the defining problem for human factors/ergonomics. Proceedings of the Human Factors/Ergonomics Society 42nd Annual Meeting (pp. 692-696). Santa Monica, CA: Human Factors and Ergonomics Society.
6.
SmithT.J. (2013). Occupancy and patient care quality benefits of private room designs for five different Children’s Hospital intensive care units – a human factors evaluation. In Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 57th Annual Meeting (pp. 703-707). Santa Monica, CA: Human Factors and Ergonomics Society.
7.
SmithT.J.OrfieldS.J. (2007). Occupancy quality predictors of office worker perceptions of job productivity (pp. 539-543). In Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 51st Annual Meeting. Santa Monica, CA: Human Factors and Ergonomics Society.
8.
SmithT.J.OrfieldS.RoleM. (2004). Sources of variance in employee perceptions of occupancy quality. In Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 48th Annual Meeting (pp. 1101-1105). Santa Monica, CA: HFES.
9.
SmithT.J.HenningR.WadeM.G.FisherT. (2014). Variability in human performance. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press. To be published.
