Changes in productivity, psychological wellbeing and physical wellbeing from working in a 'green' building

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Based on improvements in indoor environmental quality claims are that 'green' buildings are healthier and promote greater productivity than conventional buildings. However, the empirical evidence over the last decade has been inconclusive, usually with flawed study designs. OBJECTIVE: This study explored whether a 'green' building leads to a healthier, more productive work environment. METHODS: A one-year, longitudinal comparison of two groups of employees of a large commercial bank; a group that moved into a GreenStar-accredited building and a group that stayed in a conventional building, was conducted. Measures of psychological wellbeing, physical wellbeing, productivity, and perceptions of the physical environment were taken before the move, six months later, and one year later. RESULTS: Results indicate that the 'green' building group had significantly increased self-reported productivity and physical wellbeing. The perceptions of the physical work environment indicate that respondents in the 'green' building group experienced significant air quality improvements (specifically, reduced stale air, better ventilation, improved air movement, reduced humidity, and conditions that were not too drafty) but perceived the lighting conditions as dimmer. CONCLUSION: Despite positive findings 'green' building rating tools require amendment to focus on those qualities that actually lead to improved wellbeing and productivity.

Conceptual approaches to wellbeing in buildings: a scoping review

“…(Pelenur & Cruickshank, 2013, p. 33), or mood (Lamb, Kwok, & Walton, 2014). Satisfaction was also a common subtheme, with many authors investigating specific issues such as job satisfaction (Lamb et al, 2014;Steemers & Manchanda, 2010;Tavakkoli, Asaadi, Pakpour, & Hajiaghababaei, 2015;Thatcher & Milner, 2014), organisational satisfaction (e.g. 'Satisfaction with employment compensation, Satisfaction with management', Newsham et al 2009, p.146)…”

“…Another sub-theme was Illness, sometimes intended in a generic sense of ill-health (e.g. Thatcher & Milner, 2014), but other times intended as specific underlying conditions or health outcomes (e.g. Bluyssen et al, 2011;Shafaghat et al, 2014).…”

“…Some of these sub-themes appeared in conjunction with Sick Building Syndrome (e.g. Bluyssen et al, 2011;Neuner & Seidel, 2006;Shafaghat et al, 2014;Thatcher & Milner, 2014). The aforementioned sub-themes were covered especially in papers focusing on offices or schools, whereas a handful of papers which included residential environments (such as care homes) or hospitals also considered Frailty, Mobility or Safety.…”

“…(2013) used the question 'My current office environment already has a positive effect on my: productivity ' (p. 126-127), whereas Thatcher and Milner (2014) asked participants to rate 'how well you have been working over the last month in relation to your full capacity' on a scale of 0 to 100 (p. 386). Papers focused on educational environments also investigated aspects related to Learning.…”

“…Among the wellbeing conceptual themes that could not be easily associated with any of the seven discussed above, some referred to Managerial attributes of space ('Maintenance, Operation activities, Information Management, Organisation management ', Kang et al 2014, p.152), or aspects of Cost efficiency ('Daylight Sharing, Save office space, Lower rent cost due to higher worker density, Reduce [d] cost in maintenance', Shafaghat et al 2014, p.85). Job or organisation-related concepts were also explored, including Presenteeism and absenteeism (Thatcher and Milner 2014), or Perceptions of improvement and Intention to quit (Alvaro et al 2016).…”