Field · 22 records
Workplace design
Office layout, privacy, density, IEQ, interaction and performance
family: Applied
ND-0005 · 2016 · Controlled crossover study
Associations of Cognitive Function Scores with Carbon Dioxide, Ventilation, and Volatile Organic Compound Exposures in Office Workers
Allen et al. Environmental Health Perspectives
Cognitive scores were higher under lower-VOC and higher-ventilation conditions than under conventional office conditions.
ND-0006 · 2017 · Review
Ten questions concerning thermal and indoor air quality effects on the performance of office work and schoolwork
Wargocki & Wyon. Building and Environment
Synthesizes evidence that temperature and air quality can influence work and school performance, with effects dependent on task and exposure.
ND-0008 · 2010 · Experimental study
The effects of air temperature on office workers' well-being, workload and productivity-evaluated with subjective ratings
Lan, Lian & Pan. Applied Ergonomics
Temperature altered subjective workload and well-being, with physiological measures including HRV and EEG used alongside performance outcomes.
ND-0009 · 2021 · Meta-analysis
Meta-analysis of 35 studies examining the effect of indoor temperature on office work performance
Porras-Salazar et al. Building and Environment
The pooled evidence did not support a simple robust universal relationship between temperature and office work performance.
ND-0010 · 2025 · Meta-analysis
The effects of temperature on work performance in the typical office environment: A meta-analysis of current evidence
Authors per journal record. Building and Environment
Temperatures above about 25 °C tended to worsen accuracy or response time in some conditions, especially longer exposures and skilled tasks; moderately cooler conditions were less consistently harmful.
ND-0019 · 2011 · Experimental study
Open-plan office noise: Cognitive performance and restoration
Jahncke et al. Journal of Environmental Psychology
Higher office noise impaired word memory and increased tiredness; restorative content after exposure helped recover perceived energy.
ND-0020 · 2005 · Review
Auditory distraction from low-intensity noise: a review of the consequences for learning and workplace environments
C. P. Beaman. Applied Cognitive Psychology
Low-intensity sound can impair serial recall and other tasks even when it is not subjectively loud.
ND-0021 · 2020 · Meta-analysis / synthesis
The relation between intelligibility of irrelevant speech and cognitive performance: a revised model
Haapakangas et al. Indoor Air
Performance declines became more likely as irrelevant speech became more intelligible; verbal short-term memory was especially sensitive.
ND-0022 · 2020 · Experimental study
Irrelevant speech effect in open-plan offices: A laboratory study
Kostallari et al. Applied Acoustics
Irrelevant speech degraded aspects of cognitive task performance in an office-like context.
ND-0038 · 2014 · Case-control pilot study
Impact of Windows and Daylight Exposure on Overall Health and Sleep Quality of Office Workers
Boubekri et al. Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine
Workers with more window/daylight exposure reported better sleep and wellbeing and had longer sleep duration in actigraphy analyses.
ND-0072 · 2021 · Systematic review
A Comparison of Psychological and Work Outcomes in Open-Plan and Cellular Office Designs: A Systematic Review
James, Delfabbro & King. SAGE Open
Open-plan offices were more often associated with poorer health, satisfaction and productivity-related outcomes, with noise and privacy recurring as major issues.
ND-0073 · 2005 · Systematic review
The effect of office concepts on worker health and performance: a systematic review of the literature
de Croon et al. Ergonomics / Occupational literature
Strong evidence linked open workplaces with reduced privacy and job satisfaction; limited evidence linked openness and close workstation distance with higher cognitive workload.
ND-0074 · 2013 · Field survey analysis
Workspace satisfaction: The privacy-communication trade-off in open-plan offices
Kim & de Dear. Journal of Environmental Psychology
Noise and loss of privacy were major sources of dissatisfaction, and perceived communication benefits did not offset them in more open layouts.
ND-0075 · 2023 · Systematic review
Association between perceived indoor environmental characteristics and occupants' mental well-being, cognitive performance, productivity, satisfaction in workplaces
Authors per journal record. Building and Environment
Indoor climate, space/furniture/privacy and naturalness had the strongest evidence links to wellbeing, productivity and satisfaction; cognitive-performance evidence was less consistent.
ND-0076 · 2021 · Systematic review
Office spatial design attributes, sitting, and face-to-face interactions: Systematic review and research agenda
Authors per journal record. Building and Environment
Greater worker visibility was associated with shorter sitting bouts, and proximity was associated with more or longer face-to-face interactions.
ND-0084 · 2024 · Experimental study
Multisensory nature exposure in the workplace: Exploring the restorative benefits of smell experiences
Yildirim, Globa, Gocer & Brambilla. Building and Environment
A multisensory biophilic workplace condition improved stress, mood and cognitive outcomes relative to a non-biophilic condition; olfactory pleasantness contributed to restoration.
ND-0117 · 2005 · Field / psychophysiological experiment
Human Response to Window Views and Indoor Plants in the Workplace
Chang & Chen. HortScience
Nature views and indoor plants were associated with lower tension or anxiety across several conditions compared with no-view/no-plant settings.
ND-0119 · 2002 · Technical report
Open-plan office density and environmental satisfaction
Duval, Charles & Veitch. National Research Council Canada
Reviews evidence that open-plan density can affect environmental satisfaction and related perceptions.
ND-0120 · 2022 · Systematic literature review
Methodological considerations in the open-plan office paradox
Authors per journal record. Work
Findings on open-plan outcomes depend partly on which variables and methods researchers choose, explaining some apparent contradictions.
ND-0121 · 2023 · Systematic review
The effects of activity-based workplaces on contributors to organizational productivity
Authors per journal record. Journal of Environmental Psychology
Activity-based workplaces can support some productivity contributors but focus and task-space fit remain recurring challenges.
ND-0132 · 2026 · Longitudinal observational study
Interrelations of work with health and wellbeing on a 50+ year old workforce assessed using longitudinal self-reports and actigraphy
Tsanas, Steffan, Dixon, Hay, Pschetz, Jandric & Loretto. Scientific Reports
Participants usually blamed poor sleep on short sleep, but actigraphy showed around 7 to 8 hours on average and pointed to disturbances and awakenings instead. Sleep efficiency, not duration, consistently predicted wellbeing and sleep quality scores. Job stress items were strongly associated with both.
ND-0134 · 2026 · Experimental EEG study
Neural signatures of auditory distraction and cognitive demand during working memory performance
Leitner & Wriessnegger. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 20, 1919376
Accuracy rose slightly under distraction alone and under time pressure alone, relative to baseline, and fell only when the two occurred together. Single demands appeared to be absorbed by compensatory effort; the combination was not.