Enhance Satisfaction/Quality of Life

Halldorsson and teammates report that expectations formed of activity-based workplaces before move-in influence users actual experiences in these areas.  The researchers share that their goal was to “explore how implementing an activity-based work environment impacts employees’ workspace satisfaction (e.g. privacy, air quality, lighting, temperature, etc.). A sample . . . in a government organization implementing an activity-based working environment was investigated using a longitudinal design, with employees being surveyed thrice – once before and twice after implementation.

Wijk and associates evaluated at-work satisfaction after relocation to activity-based workplaces using data collected 3 months before and 9 months after workers moved.  They found that “on average, satisfaction decreased after relocation, while for some workers it increased. . . . Participants with no university education were more satisfied with the physical and psychosocial work environment in activity-based workplaces than those with a university degree. . . .

Buczylowska lead a team that found a link between children living near greenspaces and ADHD among those children generated via the effects of that greenspace on how physically active those children were.  The researchers share that they “examined the association between lifelong exposure to greenspace and ADHD diagnosis and potential underlying mechanisms (i.e., perceived greenspace, PA [ physical activity], neighbourhood social cohesion, and neighbourhood safety) in children aged 10–13 with and without ADHD. . . .

Yin, Li, Xu, Jiao, and Yang evaluated responses to virtual Autumn scenes.  They share that participants in their study “were exposed to virtual environments featuring autumn color landscapes and bare tree landscapes using visual, auditory, and combined conditions. . . . In general, within the autumn landscape, a rich array of colors contributes more to recovery compared to monochromatic scenes (such as the barren tree landscape). . . .

Gyllensten and teammates studied, via interviews, employee perceptions of soundscapes in communication-intense workplaces, those in healthcare environments and at preschools.  They learned that “The dependence on vocal communication and social interaction poses a challenge using hearing protection in these working environments. . . . Workers in communication-intense workplaces in preschools, obstetrics care and intensive care reported that there was a relationship between the sound environment and negative health effects. . .

Geng, Le, Guo, and Yin investigated design elements in comfortable hotel lobbies using digital 3-dimensional models of lobby spaces and data collected from a Chinese sample. They found that “the illuminance of the lamp, the color of the wall, and the decoration style have a significant impact on visual comfort. The music genre would not affect consumer’s visual comfort perception of lamp illuminance, wall color and decoration style.