Concurrents – Environmental Psychology: Offices, Alternate Locations, and Working

Fresh evidence indicates that our professional performance varies in different sorts of spaces and that office-type environments are probably still generally the best places for us to work. As we spend more time working in non-office spaces and technology improves to support us as we do so, this may change; but at this moment in human history the office-performance link seems important to consider.

Moskalluk, Burmeister, Cress and their colleagues have studied performance in more usual sorts of offices and in alternative locations.

Moskaliuk, Burmeister, Landkammer, Renner and Cress published a paper in 2017 which compared performance “in a traditional office on company premises” and “in the home or in other environments that were never originally conceptualized for working, such as parks or hotel lobbies.” They “used virtual 3D environments to examine the impact of a work-related (characteristic office) vs. a non-work related context (Tuscan garden) on attention, concentration, and decision making…compared to the non-work context, participants in the work context (1) had marginally faster reaction times in an attentional task (2) were more accurate in completing a concentration test, and (3) made decisions that were more risky.”

All tasks completed by study participants were similar to typical knowledge work. The virtual reality spaces used were described by the researchers: “In the non-work context condition, participants browsed through a garden resembling a Tuscan landscape showing peaceful nature. Participants were able to walk around the cottage house and to look through the window…In the work context condition, the virtual environment consisted of office equipment, like a desk, a laptop, and other typical work-related artefacts from an office setting.”

In a 2018 paper, Burmeister, Moskaliuk and Cress reported that, “Mobile workers perform tasks that require high concentration not only in their traditional office but also within environments that are typically related to leisure (e.g., in a park or in the living room)…In two studies…results indicated higher work-related concentration when surrounded by an office compared to a leisure environment.” During study 1, participants worked in either a virtual office or garden: “The office environment showed a typical office room, furnished with office equipment, such as a desk, a desk chair, a computer, or writing utensils. Participants were not able to leave the room but had a view from the window towards a busy street. The leisure environment showed lush green garden scenery with a view of mountains, a river, and a small cottage. Participants could look into the cottage, but not enter it.” In the second study, data were gathered as people worked in their actual (physical) office or in a leisure environment that the worker selected. Interestingly, all but one study participant chose an indoor space at their home as their leisure environment.

This pair of studies indicates that it’s too early to replace all of our workplaces with idyllic garden spaces, etc. – but as people’s experiences and expectations regarding offices evolve, so will the best places for us to work.

Carolin Burmeister, Johannes Moskaliuk, and Ulrike Cress. 2018. “Office Versus Leisure Environments: Effects of Surroundings on Concentration.” Journal of Environmental Psychology, vol. 58, pp. 42-51.

Johannes Moskaliuk, Carolin Burmeister, Florian Landkammer, Bettina Renner, and Ulrike Cress. 2017. “Environmental Effects on Cognition and Decision Making of Knowledge Workers.” Journal of Environmental Psychology, vol. 49, pp. 43-54.

Sally Augustin, PhD, is the editor of Research Design Connections(www.researchdesignconnections.com).Research Design Connectionsreports on research conducted by social and physical scientists that designers can apply in practice. Insights derived from recent studies are integrated with classic, still relevant findings in concise, powerful articles. Topics covered range from the cognitive, emotional, and physiological implications of sensory and other physical experiences to the alignment of culture, personality, and design, among others. Information, in everyday language, is shared in a monthly subscription newsletter, an archive of thousands of published articles, and a free daily blog. Readers learn about the latest research findings immediately, before they’re available elsewhere. Sally, who is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, is also the author of Place Advantage: Applied Psychology for Interior Architecture(Wiley, 2009) and, with Cindy Coleman, The Designer’s Guide to Doing Research: Applying Knowledge to Inform Design(Wiley, 2012). She is a principal at Design With Science (www.designwithscience.com) and can be reached at sallyaugustin@designwithscience.com.