The relative benefits of green versus lean office space: Three field experiments.

Abstract

Principles of lean office management increasingly call for space to be stripped of extraneous decorations so that it can flexibly accommodate changing numbers of people and different office functions within the same area. Yet this practice is at odds with evidence that office workers' quality of life can be enriched by office landscaping that involves the use of plants that have no formal work-related function. To examine the impact of these competing approaches, 3 field experiments were conducted in large commercial offices in The Netherlands and the U.K. These examined the impact of lean and "green" offices on subjective perceptions of air quality, concentration, and workplace satisfaction as well as objective measures of productivity. Two studies were longitudinal, examining effects of interventions over subsequent weeks and months. In all 3 experiments enhanced outcomes were observed when offices were enriched by plants. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.

The downside of downtime: The prevalence and work pacing consequences of idle time at work.

“…Contributing to this recent commentary is the goal of many companies to become "lean" by eliminating all slack (Arnheiter & Maleyeff, 2005;Knight & Haslam, 2010;Nieuwenhuis, Knight, Postmes, & Haslam, 2014). The opposite of intense busyness -idle time in which no work is available -is rarely discussed.…”

Stabilization of Soil Moisture and Improvement of Indoor Air Quality by a Plant-Biofilter Integration System

“…또한 실내식물은 사람들 이 가장 일반적으로 실내 공기정화를 위해 사용하는 방법으 로 실내 공기오염 물질인 HCHO, VOCs 등을 제거하는 효 과가 있는 것으로 보고되고 있다 (Hong et al, 2005;Kil et al, 2008a;Park et al, 2010). 자연물이 주는 심리적 회복 효과에 대한 이론 중 하나인 '주의회복이론'에 근거하여 실 내 녹화된 사무실이 생산성에 미치는 영향을 연구한 결과 사무공간의 만족도, 공기의 질에 대한 지각, 업무 집중도 등 이 높은 수치로 나타나 업무의 질이 향상되고 생산성이 15% 향상되는 것으로 나타났다 (Nieuwenhuis et al, 2014). 이로 써 공간의 특성을 고려한 실내 녹화의 도입이 활성화되어야 한다.…”

Collaboration in open-plan offices

“…There is some evidence to suggest openplan offices facilitate less interaction and collaboration than cell offices (De Croon et al, 2005). For example, Hatch (1987) (Waber et al, 2014), proponents of lean offices have been interested in promoting efficacy, rather than collaboration (Nieuwenhuis et al, 2014). Alternatively, advocates of the cynical perspective describe the link between open plan offices and collaboration as rhetoric rather than reality (Kaufman, 2014).…”

“…Hatch, 1987;Oldham & Brass, 1979;Oldham & Rotchford, 1983;Sundstrom et al, 1980). Furthermore, recent research has focused on issues such as the relationship between office personalisation and productivity (Nieuwenhuis, Knight, Postmes, & Haslam, 2014), the impact of standing desks on creativity (Knight & Baer, 2014), and the emotions and behaviours expressed by employees in openplan offices (Ashkanasy et al, 2014 (Hua et al, 2010;McElroy & Morrow, 2010). Secondly, research on the relationship between open-plan offices and constructs related to collaboration (e.g.…”

“…Secondly, on a related point, organisations are increasingly adopting lean office spaces (e.g. Nieuwenhuis et al, 2014) and hot-desking practices (e.g. Hirst, 2011;Millward et al, 2007), that restrict the ability of employees to store, display, and retrieve potential boundary objects.…”