Linking indoor environment conditions to job satisfaction: a field study

Physical and questionnaire data were collected from 95 workstations at an open-plan office building in Michigan, US. The physical measurements encompassed thermal, lighting, and acoustic variables, furniture dimensions, and an assessment of potential exterior view. Occupants answered a detailed questionnaire concerning their environmental and job satisfaction, and aspects of well-being. These data were used to test, via mediated regression, a model linking the physical environment, through environmental satisfaction, to job satisfaction and other related measures. In particular, a significant link was demonstrated between overall environmental satisfaction and job satisfaction, mediated by satisfaction with management and with compensation. Analysis of physical data was limited to the lighting domain. Results confirmed the important role of window access at the desk in satisfaction with lighting, particularly through its effect on satisfaction with outside view. Des données physiques et des données obtenues par questionnaire ont été recueillies auprès de 95 postes de travail dans un immeuble de bureaux décloisonnés du Michigan, aux Etats-Unis. Les mesures physiques comprenaient des variables thermiques, acoustiques et relatives à l'éclairage, les dimensions des meubles, ainsi qu'une évaluation de la vue extérieure potentielle. Les occupants ont répondu à un questionnaire détaillé portant sur la satisfaction à l'égard de leur environnement et de leur travail, et sur des aspects relatifs au bien-être. Ces données ont été utilisées pour tester, au moyen d'une régression médiatisée, un modèle liant l'environnement physique, par la satisfaction à l'égard de l'environnement, à la satisfaction dans le travail et aux autres mesures liées. Il a en particulier été démontré qu'il existe un lien important entre la satisfaction globale à l'égard de l'environnement et la satisfaction dans le travail, médiatisé par la satisfaction vis-à-vis de la direction et de la rémunération. L'analyse des données physiques a été limitée au domaine de l'éclairage. Les résultats ont confirmé que le fait de pouvoir accéder à une fenêtre au bureau joue un rôle important dans la satisfaction à l'égard de l'éclairage, en particulier par son effet sur la satisfaction vis-à-vis de la vue extérieure. Mots clés: satisfaction à l'égard de l'environnement, satisfaction dans le travail, éclairage, perception par les occupants, bureaux, productivité organisationnelle, vue, bien-être

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