Air, light and comfortable temperature enhance performance

Worker performance could increase by 20 percent if the fresh air supply in offices and meeting rooms is improved, finds a new report developed by Sharp and workplace psychologist Dr Nigel Oseland. Creating the perfect meeting environment claims to highlight the importance of creating the right conditions for meetings in order to boost productivity and reviews the role of indoor air quality, temperature and lighting on office worker performance and wellness in meetings. The report identifies temperature as a key environmental factor that has an impact on memory recall, attention span, and creativity, which all affect performance.

With the ideal meeting temperature recorded anywhere between 20°C to 25°C, gradually decreasing the temperature to 18°C one hour before the end of the working day was found to boost productivity and increase employee performance by 4.1 percent which could be beneficial for lengthy meetings and combating the end of day productivity lull.

[perfectpullquote align=”left” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]”Studies have repeatedly shown that uncomfortable environmental conditions can negatively affect performance in the general office space and meeting rooms.”[/perfectpullquote]

Office and meeting room lighting was also found to have a significant impact on concentration and productivity, with the latest research revealing good lighting can improve performance by 15 percent. Good lighting and daylight are essential to employee’s wellness and mood, with findings showing that workers in offices with windows had 46 minutes more sleep a night compared to workers without them.

“Studies have repeatedly shown that uncomfortable environmental conditions can negatively affect performance in the general office space and meeting rooms. This provides a strong business case to control and adapt these conditions in order to boost productivity and worker performance in meetings”, comments Dr. Nigel Oseland, Environmental Psychologist.

Chris Parker, Senior Product Manager at Sharp, adds: “Advancements in collaboration technologies, together with the capabilities offered by IoT and cloud platforms mean it’s now easier than ever for businesses to get better value from their meetings. “When you know the temperature of a meeting room and you can send that data to the cloud, and from the cloud, communicate this to your heating and cooling system to take an action, you have a system that adapts to how your meeting spaces are used. We believe this is the start of a revolution in smart spaces.”

The report reiterates points made in related studies from the likes of Adrian Leaman and Bill Bordass and the work of Neil Usher in The Elemental Workplace.