Assessment of the Impact of the Office Environment on Productivity Based on Employees’ Satisfaction

Office employees spend the most amount of time in an indoor environment. The indoor environment has a substantial influence on the office occupants’ comfort, satisfaction, work performance, and overall productivity. This research aims to investigate the impact of various environmental factors on the productivity of office workers and their overall satisfaction with the workplace environment. Specifically, the study seeks to answer the following research questions: Which environmental factors most significantly affect office workers’ satisfaction and productivity? How does satisfaction with the workplace environment differ between two different offices located in different firms? And what is the impact of office satisfaction on employee productivity? For this purpose, a qualitative methodology was adopted, and a set of questions was compiled in a questionnaire and sent to two different offices at the Podium Building Surveying and Kendall Kingscott firms, respectively. The results obtained were analysed using simple statistical tools. The results indicated that employee satisfaction levels were mostly affected by temperature, noise distractions, and personal preferences. Employees at office 2 located at Kendall Kingscott firm were more dissatisfied with their office environment as compared to office 1 at Podium Building Surveying. The reason for this was found to be the lack of an air conditioning system at office 2. The results indicated that productivity is affected by office satisfaction levels as many of the employees at office 2 were found to be dissatisfied with some of the environmental factors (such as temperature, noise, and air quality). Due to this dissatisfaction, office 2 employees were found to be less productive than employees in Office 1. Finally, it was recommended that an air conditioning system is to be installed at office 2 to further enhance employee satisfaction.