…the influence of physical space on employee experience
I am a proud village boy. Those who know me know it is an identity I wear on my sleeve, proudly. And there is good reason why. Staying with my maternal grandmother in the village was an experience I will not exchange for anything. The time spent there and the experiences had are sure to stay with me for the rest of my life.
After all these years, it still intrigues me that in spite of their lack of education, our old folks back in the village were so educated. There are still things I come across in my current studies and research work that I recall my grandmother alluding to. My grandmother has long departed this side of eternity but apparently some of the things she taught me really had solid scientific basis. She might never have set foot in a classroom but for her, and many others of her era, nature taught them, and taught very well.
One of such lessons had to do with the effect of the physical space. My grandmother believed one should not stay indoors too long. She believed if one stayed inside a room for an extended period of time, the room greatly affected the one in some way. The literal translation of what she said in the Ga language was that the room will “overwhelm” the one. At the time, she made it sound like there was a certain spiritual underpinning to that statement. But I took her by her word—and I was right to.
Apparently, there is scientific proof of the influence of the physical environment on those who spend time within that environment. Specifically, the physical work environment has been found to have an effect on the mood, attitude and, eventually, the behaviours of those within that environment. Just by staying within the wrong physical space, an individual’s mood can be changed from the most upbeat to a most depressing state. The right space, on the reverse, can brighten one’s mood.
A study published in the October 2020 edition of IEEE Access, a scientific journal published by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, lent some credence to what my grandmother always said concerning physical spaces. The study was titled, “The Impact of Physical Work Environment on The Employee Job Satisfaction in Private Office Type: The Case of Erbil City.” As can be deciphered from the title, the study was carried out in the city of Erbil, in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. It involved 11 offices with 144 employees in private companies around the city.
The researchers in this particular study claimed that there was proof that the physical work atmosphere had a direct and indirect influence upon employee’s job gratification and of employee performance. Employees felt good in working environments that had the right combination of elements. In other words, it is entirely possible that some employees might be far better performers than their current workplace environment is allowing to show. The environment might be stifling some employees from giving off their very best. A problematic work environment is really a problem.
Quite recently, there has been another study on the influence of the physical environment on those within it. This latest study, titled “The influence of the physical work environment on retail employees,” went further to show how some of the factors of the physical environment affected employees. The results of the study were published in the January 2023 edition of the Journal of Services Marketing. Using a retail grocery store as the field of study, the researchers sought to explore the relationship between the physical work environment of employees and subsequent levels of employee job satisfaction and employee loyalty. The backdrop of this particular study was Dublin, Ireland.
Some of the factors of the physical environment that impacts employees, according to the study, are Colour and Design, Cleanliness and Odour, Music, Lighting and Layout. Although there could be other factors, the researchers argued that these elements represented a holistic overview of the different stimuli that had influence within a physical work space.
Colour: The influence of colour on mood is a widely-studied subject matter. There are some hues and shades that do not align well with certain professions, and thus workplaces. It has been suggested that dark colours tend to subdue moods while bright colours create some excitability. A business that intends to have its interior space evoke an inviting and friendly image should go for the appropriate colour combination.
Design: A company that wants its employees to feel at home must ensure that it gets the design of the physical space right. For instance, it was found in a 2011 study conducted in Australia that the design of an early childhood development centre really mattered. The design of the centre was said to help in welcoming the child and making them feel safe. The safety the child feels in a space that is ‘homely’, inviting, and bright and linked to the outdoors is translated in the child learning more. That is how important design is.
Cleanliness: A study conducted in The Netherlands claimed that cleanliness of a workplace was linked to the productivity of employees. The study was titled, “Impact of cleanliness on the productivity of employees” and the report was published in the December 2017 edition of the Facilities journal. According to the study, employees reported higher work satisfaction levels when their work environment was cleaner.
It makes sense that having a clean workplace will work because it becomes easier to find documents. Time that would have been wasted searching for important documents would be spent doing something else. Distractions that are caused by clutter can be curbed when the office is well cleaned.
The effect of cleanliness goes beyond just its effect on the productivity of employees. A clean environment can have real health implications. Post COVID-19, the health of employees has become much more important. Employees will definitely not feel too good working in a place where washrooms are not scrubbed regularly, corridors not sanitised and furniture not cleaned every day.
Odour: Closely related to cleanliness, odour is also an indication of how healthy the physical space is. Odours are so powerful that they are one of those elements that can have an instant impact on the mood of those within its effect. It has even been stated that the most persistent memory of any space is often its characteristic smell. There are even studies that have linked creativity to the smell in a place. This is why some businesses go to great lengths just to develop a signature fragrance for the workplace. The faint coffee smell in some hotel lobbies is definitely not by accident.
According to Rachel S. Herz, an assistant professor of psychology at Brown University, Rhode Island in the US, odours affect us because we tend to associate certain odours with certain experiences in our past. Therefore, when we come across this scents, we are transported back to those experiences.
Music: The place of music at work is one of the most studied of all the elements regarding the servicescape. There is a general agreement that listening to certain kinds of music during working hours tends to have a relaxing effect on employees. It follows that having employees in a relaxed state leads to a certain degree of happiness which can translate into increased productivity. It is not a case of employees working harder or faster. The thing about having good music in the background is that it makes the employee feel good and this is what translate into greater productivity.
The truth is that there are certain kinds of music you would not expect in certain places. This is because music adds so much to the ambience while at the same time, it can take away so much from the place. This is why certain workplaces should not tune in to certain radio stations during working hours, especially in the full hearing of customers.
Lighting: There is enough evidence to show that lighting has a serious effect on people. The quality of lighting has been known to cause depression. There are even studies to show that the quality of lighting can have an effect on the appetite of individuals. In reverse, proper lighting is known to improve the mood and energy levels of those within the space. There are also studies that show the effect of specific colour of lights on the mood of individuals. For instance, it has been said that exposure to blue light had the effect of energising people.
It is claimed in another study that blue light help people complete cognitive tasks more quickly while making them more alert. What made this particular study even more interesting was the fact that it claimed that a full thirty minutes after people were exposed to the short wavelength, high energy blue light, the effects could still be detected. In other words, the effect of lighting goes beyond just the physical environment within which the exposure took place.
Layout: The layout of the physical space can become a hindrance to the productivity of the organisation. The ways furniture are arranged within the space, the way offices are partitioned and the proximity between units and departments have all been found to have an effect on employees.
This is why a number of organisations, with a more modern approach to business, ensure that their layouts are such that they promotes efficiency. These organisations do not leave anything to chance. Some deep thinking goes into the design of the layout. For instance, to promote greater interaction among departments, some organisation redesign their layout to ensure that individuals meet along the corridors while they move in and out of their departments.
