Conclusions
Although many published studies that measure
human response to varying environmental conditions
advance the argument that happier and
more contented workers are likely to be more
productive (work harder) than unhappy or dissatisfied
workers, the conclusive link between
these two psychological phenomena has yet to
be made empirically. In view of the numerous
attempts to quantify that proportion of worker
productivity that can be said to depend on support
from the physical environment (ranging
from 5% to 25 or 30%), assuming this percentage
to be a function of users’ level of satisfaction
does not appear to be a strong argument.
Many companies are satisfied that standard office
layouts in generic office buildings are more
than adequate to support their employees’
work, and fail to see any advantage to investing
additional effort in workspace design simply in
order to make people feel happier.