Effects of Environmental Control on Stress,Performance and Group Effectiveness

Abstract

The present study investigated the influence of control over the physical environment on individual performance, group effectiveness, and worker health. A new office workstation was design for knowledge workers with the intent of providing a highly adjustable, flexible physical work environment. It was hypothesized that the adjustable, flexible features of the new workstation would increase availability of control and workers' knowledge of control over their workstations. It was predicted that availability of control and knowledge of control would improve individual and group effectiveness, enhance group collaboration, and decrease stress and physical health problems. Results of the study indicated that when compared to standard systems furniture offices, the new highly adjustable workstation was found to increase the availability of control and that workers' knowledge of control both played a significant role in increasing individual performance and group effectiveness. Availability of control and knowledge of control were also found to improve group collaboration and decrease psychological stress. The design of the highly adjustable workstation enables users a degree of physical control beyond that of standard workstations, thereby increasing performance, collaboration, and psychological health.

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