Sick building syndrome in open‐plan offices

Gou, Zhonghua; Lau, Ssy

doi:10.1108/14725961211265729

Cited by 26 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…Office workers spend most of their working hours in an indoor environment, and poor condition of the physical indoor environment can cause problems in workers’ health. Several studies on workplaces have demonstrated health in both physical (Gou and Siu-Yu Lau, 2012; Abisuga et al , 2016) and mental perspectives (Abisuga et al , 2016). According to the World Health Organization (WHO), health is defined as “a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity” (WHO, 2014, p. 1).…”

Section: Theoretical Framework Development For Workplace Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…According to the World Health Organization (WHO), health is defined as “a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity” (WHO, 2014, p. 1). Several studies have found that poor conditions of the physical built environment can have a negative impact on the physical health of the building users, exhibited hearing problems, skin problems, headache, eyestrain, cough, dizziness, running nose or eyes and heat discomfort (Gou and Siu-Yu Lau, 2012; Abisuga et al , 2016; Gomez-Baya and Lucia-Casademunt, 2018). However, these studies did not address the detailed information of built environments but provided the types of workplaces, such as open-plan offices and flexible offices.…”

Section: Theoretical Framework Development For Workplace Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Theoretical understanding of sociomateriality in workplace studies

Kim

Yang

2020

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Purpose This paper aims to propose a theoretical framework for workplace research based on sociomateriality. Sociomateriality is a theory to explain the effects of social practice and materiality in an organization. Workplace studies in facility management (FM) can adopt this theory to understand the complex relationships between physical work environments and human factors. Design/methodology/approach Review of sociomateriality was conducted to understand the connection to existing workplace studies in FM. This study addresses the components of the workplace through the sociomateriality perspective. Findings The main focuses in sociomateriality theory are materiality and social practice. For workplace concepts specifically in FM, workplaces and their components are a material agency, and work and workers are a social practice agency. By considering both materiality and sociality in workplace environments, researchers can understand office dynamics and interrelationships. Lastly, two statistical analysis methods are suggested to analyze the framework: structural equation modeling and multilevel analysis. Originality/value To understand the human–environment relationship, it is essential to consider both materiality and social practice perspectives simultaneously. The proposed framework can be a foundation to explain the complex interactions between the physical environment and human factors of workers in individual organizations.

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Section: Theoretical Framework Development For Workplace Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Theoretical Framework Development For Workplace Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Theoretical understanding of sociomateriality in workplace studies

Kim

Yang

2020

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“…The importance of physical health is evident in the assertion that "health is wealth". A major factor influencing the functional ability and physical health of students and staff members in their living environment is the performance of facilities in the building (Gou and Lau, 2012;Sivam and Karuppannan, 2015).…”

Section: Overall Health Of Building Usersmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Defects in poorly maintained indoor environments have been linked to building related illnesses experienced by users. Building related illness such as headaches, skin irritation, memory loss, loss of concentration, blood pressure, pulse, brain activity, biorhythms and watering eyes/nose have been reported in several studies (Claudio et al, 2016;Gou and Lau, 2012;Tanner, 2000;Vafaeenasah et al, 2015;Wong and Jan, 2003). Putus (2012) and Agyekum et al (2013) have associated health problems experienced in buildings with low functionality of building facilities.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Educational building conditions and the health of users

Abisuga

Famakin

Oshodi

2016

CEB

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In order to maintain a healthy learning environment, diagnosis and management of defects in the educational facility are paramount. The preliminary results of the ongoing research reported here seek to identify defects associated with educational buildings and their effects on the health of polytechnic students and staff in Nigeria. A questionnaire survey, including 34 defects based on a post-occupancy evaluation (POE) was used to establish relationships with the health of polytechnic students and staff. Two hundred (200) respondents were randomly selected based on their schools (faculty) within Lagos State Polytechnic. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used for analysis of the collected data. The results of the study indicate that defects such as plumbing and dampness problems, cobwebs and dust, are prominent in the institution. Also the relationship between building conditions (defects) and health problems was established, with the predictors of the health problems. Based on the findings, it is important for designers and managers of facilities within tertiary institutions to develop and implement design and maintenance policies targeted at minimizing the likelihood of plumbing, dampness, electrical, cobweb and dust problems in educational buildings due to the health risks induced by the defects. It is evident that effective maintenance schedules and policies should be put in place to ensure that facilities are not left to decay before replacement.

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“…Previous research on open-plan offices highlighted the role of individual control in alleviating the negative perceptions and promoting human-oriented workplace design [3,4]. The research found that one of key problems of open plan settings is that the freedom of choices is lacking and, therefore, building occupants feel powerlessness and unhappiness, which would consequently decrease task performance [5][6][7][8][9][10]. Occupants who perceived their control opportunities as being insufficient were less tolerant of their thermal conditions [11] and less stimulated [12].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Role of Personal Control in Alleviating Negative Perceptions in the Open-Plan Workplace

2018

Self Cite

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Today's office buildings adopt open-plan settings for collaboration and space efficiency. However, the open plan setting has been intensively criticized for its adverse user experiences, such as noise, privacy loss, and over cooling. The provision of personal control in open-plan work environments is an important means to alleviating the adverse perceptions. This research is to investigate the relationship between the availability of personal controls and the degree of control over the physical environment, as well as their effectiveness in alleviating adverse perceptions in open-plan workplaces. The study combined three systematic occupant survey tools and collected responses from open-plan offices in Shenzhen, China. Specifically, this survey covered 12 personal controls in open-plan workplaces;respondents were asked to report their degree of control over the physical environment and also were required to report if they had adverse perceptions such as sick building syndrome in their offices. The results showed that most of the 12 personal controls supported perceived degree of control over the physical environment but only half of them were negatively associated with adverse perceptions. Non-mechanical controls, such as windows and blinds, were found to be more effective than mechanical controls such as fans and air-conditioning in alleviating adverse perceptions. Conflicts were found between task/desk lights and other personal controls. The research generates important evidence for the interior design of open-plan offices.

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Sick building syndrome in open‐plan offices

Cited by 26 publications

References 32 publications

Theoretical understanding of sociomateriality in workplace studies

Theoretical understanding of sociomateriality in workplace studies

Educational building conditions and the health of users

The Role of Personal Control in Alleviating Negative Perceptions in the Open-Plan Workplace

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