Environmental psychology research into the
work environment has until recently focused on
measuring user satisfaction—both job satisfaction
and environmental satisfaction. Based on
stimulus–response logic, this approach posits user
satisfaction as a measurable behavioural response
to features of the physical environment. However,
little in this approach controls for the personal
and experiential influences and prejudices that
affect people’s assessment of the quality of their
workspace. The global and inexact concept of
satisfaction does not address the complexities of
the transactional nature of the person–environment
relationship. More recent work on environmental
comfort elaborates on the notion of fit
between user and workspace, providing a
sounder theoretical basis for workspace stress
research.