How can the physical design of the workplace enhance collaborations without compromising an individual's productivity? The body of research on the links between physical space and collaboration in knowledge work settings is reviewed. Collaboration is viewed as a system of behaviours that includes both social and solitary work. The social aspects of collaboration are discussed in terms of three dimensions: awareness, brief interaction and collaboration (working together). Current knowledge on the links between space and the social as well as individual aspects of collaborative work is reviewed. The central conflict of collaboration is considered: how to design effectively to provide a balance between the need to interact and the need to work effectively by oneself. The body of literature shows that features and attributes of space can be manipulated to increase awareness, interaction and collaboration. However, doing so frequently has negative impacts on individual work as a result of increases in noise distractions and interruptions to on-going work. The effects are most harmful for individual tasks requiring complex and focused mental work. The negative effects are compounded by a workplace that increasingly suffers from cognitive overload brought on by time stress, increased workload and multitasking. Keywords: cognitive overload, collaboration, evidence-based design, individual effectiveness, interaction, knowledge work, office awareness, workplace awareness, workplace design Comment la conception physique du lieu de travail peut-elle améliorer les collaborations sans compromettre la productivité individuelle ? L'auteur passe en revue l'ensemble des recherches conduites sur les liens qui existent entre l'espace physique et la collaboration au niveau de la connaissance du cadre de travail. La collaboration est définie comme un système de comportements qui recouvre le travail en groupe et le travail solitaire. Les aspects sociaux de la collaboration sont examinés sous trois angles différents: prise de conscience, brèves interactions et collaboration (travailler ensemble). L'auteur examine les connaissances actuelles en matière de liens entre l'espace et la dimension sociale et aussi en termes d'aspects individuels du travail en collaboration. L'auteur étudie ensuite le conflit qui est au coeur du travail en collaboration: comment concevoir avec efficacité pour arriver à un équilibre entre le besoin d'interagir et celui de travailler seul efficacement ? La littérature consacrée à ce sujet montre que les caractéristiques et les attributs de l'espace peuvent être manipulés pour augmenter la prise de conscience, l'interaction et la collaboration. Mais des manipulations trop fréquentes ont des incidences négatives sur le travail individuel du fait de l'augmentation du bruit, des distractions et des interruptions du travail en cours. Elles sont surtout préjudiciables aux tâches individuelles complexes qui nécessitent
This paper reports a study that uses space syntax theories and techniques to develop a model explaining how spatial layouts, through their effects on movement and visible co-presence, may affect face-to-face interaction in offices. While several previous space syntax studies have shown that spatial layouts have significant effects on movement and face-to-face interaction in offices, none has investigated the relations among movement, visible co-presence, and face-to-face interaction in offices with significantly different layouts. Based on statistical analyses of the spatial and behavioral data collected at four moderately large offices, this study shows that spatial layouts have consistent effects on movement, but inconsistent effects on visible copresence and face-to-face interaction; that visible co-presence, not movement, is an important predictor of face-to-face interaction; that movement has negligible effects on the relationship between visible co-presence and face-to-face interaction; and that functional programs have little or no effect on the culture of face-to-face interaction in these offices. Limitations of the research design for workplace study and implications of the research findings for workplace design and management are discussed.
Aims-In this study we investigated the effects of the physical work environment on two physiological measures of the stress response.Methods and Results-Circadian variations in vagally mediated HRV and the morning rise in cortisol were evaluated in sixty participants working in a government building either in a traditional (individual offices and old cubicles; n=40) or a modern workspace (individualized cubicles with improved views and lighting; n=20). Results revealed significant linear (B = −1.03; CI: −1.05 to −1.01, p < .05) and quadratic (B = 1.001; CI: 1.0004 to 1.002, p < .05) trends by office type interactions for indices of vagally mediated HRV. Individuals in the old office space had flatter slopes and thus less circadian variation including less HRV at night, and a larger rise in cortisol upon awakening compared to those in the new office space.Conclusions-These results indicate that physical features of the work environment may affect two aspects of the physiological stress response: circadian variations in HRV and the morning rise in cortisol. These findings have important social, economic, and public health implications for work environment risk factors on health.
A field study was conducted at two U.S. federal government office sites and two U.S. embassies to demonstrate whether circadian-effective lighting (providing circadian stimulus (CS) values of CS ≥ 0.3) could be installed in office buildings, and to determine whether this lighting intervention would reduce sleepiness and increase alertness, vitality and energy in office workers while at work. Desktop and/or overhead luminaires provided circadian-effective lighting at participants’ eyes during a two-day intervention. A pendant-mounted Daysimeter device was used to measure participant-specific CS values during the baseline and the intervention days. Participants also completed questionnaires inquiring about sleep habits, stress and subjective feelings of vitality and energy. The Daysimeter data showed that participants were exposed to significantly higher amounts of circadian-effective light while at work during the two intervention days compared to the baseline day. Self-reported sleepiness scores were significantly reduced during the intervention days compared to the baseline day. As hypothesised, participants also reported feeling significantly more vital, energetic and alert on the intervention days compared to the baseline day. The present results from four independent office environments demonstrate that lighting systems delivering a CS ≥ 0.3 can reduce sleepiness and increase vitality and alertness in office workers.
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