This paper explores the relation of self-assessed productivity to the objective environment and also to user satisfaction with air quality, acoustic, visual, and thermal conditions. The data are from the SCATs Project (Smart Controls and Thermal Comfort) and were obtained during monthly surveys in 26 office buildings in five European countries. More than 4500 desk visits were made, during which the office environment was measured and the subjective reports were obtained. Statistical analysis shows that the self-assessed productivity was coherently and significantly related to satisfaction with the various aspects of the office environment, while the relation with the measured conditions was indirect and weak. The self-assessed productivity was maximal when the comfort was greatest, over a wide range of environments. This result implies that to relate productivity directly to environmental variables, without first considering the overall comfort of the worker, is likely to be misleading. The effects of various methods of environmental control on the perceived productivity were compared. No one type of environmental control was necessarily superior.

Units: SI