Common sources of occupant dissatisfaction with workspace environments in 600 office buildings
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 13132037 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Thomas Parkinson (0000-0002-0088-8754, University of California, Berkeley), Stefano Schiavon (0000-0003-1285-5682, University of California, Berkeley, corresponding author), Jungsoo Kim (0000-0003-1423-0862, The University of Sydney), Giovanni Betti (0000-0002-1185-9916, University of California, Berkeley) |
| Year | 2023 |
| Volume | 4 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 17-35 |
| Publication date | 2023-01-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Buildings and Cities (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2632-6655 • E-ISSN: 2632-6655 |
| Publisher | Ubiquity Press, Ltd. (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.5334/bc.274 |
| OpenAlex | W4313579264 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 52 |
Previously unpublished data from over 600 office buildings in the Center for the Built Environment (CBE) Occupant Survey database are used to perform a systematic analysis of dissatisfaction in contemporary workspaces. A total of 81% of respondents expressed dissatisfaction with at least one aspect of their workspace, and 67% with more than one. Acoustics were the most common source of dissatisfaction, particularly related to people talking, speech privacy, and phones. Other challenges included a perceived lack of control over the temperature and insufficient space, along with other associated problems of densely populated offices. The analysis shows that context matters when understanding occupant dissatisfaction. Occupants of open-plan offices with low or no partitions were almost twice as likely to complain about their workspace than someone in a private, enclosed office. Being near a window decreased the likelihood of dissatisfaction compared with those who were not near a window. There was a clear relationship between self-perceived performance and satisfaction with the indoor environment. Dissatisfaction profiles found that acoustics, space, and privacy-related items co-occur for many occupants dissatisfied with more than one workspace aspect. Practical relevance Post-occupancy surveys are a useful tool for evaluating whether an office environment supports occupants while conducting their work. While highlighting the successes is important, complaints from dissatisfied occupants can identify issues and pinpoint reasons why spaces do not meet expectations. The reported challenges generally relate to the simultaneous reduction in control and personalization with increasingly open and densely populated layouts. Occupant dissatisfaction may impact performance given the reported relationship between satisfaction with the environment and feeling supported by the workspace to complete work tasks. The themes emerging from this analysis identify common dissatisfaction sources that can serve as an empirical basis to identify common problems in contemporary workspace designs
Architectural engineering · Civil engineering · Context (archaeology · Control (management · Geography · Open plan · Personalization · Political science · Post-occupancy evaluation · Relevance (law · Workspace · World Wide Web · Building Energy and Comfort Optimization · Computer Science · Engineering · Facilities and Workplace Management · Noise Effects and Management · Psychology
| Highly cited | No |
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