New study shows employees aren't happier working in green buildings

Think working in an environmentally green building leads to greater satisfaction in the workplace? Think again.

People working in buildings certified under LEED’s green building standard appear no more satisfied with the quality of their indoor workplace environments than those toiling in conventional buildings, according to new research from the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom.

The work, which counters the findings of several earlier studies examining the same issue, was done by Stefano Schiavon, an assistant professor of architecture in sustainability, energy and environment at UC Berkeley’s Center for the Built Environment (CBE) and associate professor Sergio Altomonte with the University of Nottingham’s Environmental Physics and Design Research Group.

The findings were published in the April issue of the journal Building and Environment and expand on Schiavon and Altomonte’s previous work on the topic by determining that most workers do not experience a higher level of workplace satisfaction simply because they work in LEED certified buildings–regardless of the building layout, amount of time in the workplace and many other factors.

Schiavon and Altomonte analyzed the survey responses of 21,477 individuals in 144 mainly large office buildings, most in the United States. Of those buildings, 65 are LEED certified. Previous reports by other researchers who reached different conclusions about worker satisfaction were based on much smaller sample sizes and different statistical tests.

“Does this mean that green certification is outdated, just costly or even useless?” asked Schiavon. “Certainly not, especially given the urgency of the environmental challenge and the fundamental role of buildings on people health and wellbeing, climate change and energy security.”

Schiavon and Altomonte did find that LEED-rated buildings may be more effective in providing higher occupant satisfaction when occupants are in open spaces rather than in enclosed offices, and when the buildings are smaller in size.

Occupant satisfaction with LEED-certified office building environments appears to decline with time, with the greatest level of satisfaction reported during the first year that a worker spends in a green building.

One reason for this decline may be that LEED certification is largely based on predictions, without measuring real building performance post-construction. Schiavon and Altomonte said that workplace satisfaction might improve if more design-related information could be collected by assessing LEED certified buildings based on actual operations and performance.

They said they hope their research leads builders and businesses to pay closer attention to:

Designing strategies and solutions aimed at influencing occupant satisfaction and feelings of health, well-being and job performance as part of the LEED certification process
Occupant feedback
The ongoing development of the LEED program towards continuous assessment of building and people performance

The researchers are now studying the most effective LEED strategies for the improvement of office worker well-being and plan to report their conclusions in 2015.

Although the construction recovery continues to lag other sectors as well as the overall U.S. economy, the industry is finally seeing a rebound. Commercial real estate giant Jones Lang LaSalle recently released its Summer 2013 Construction Highlights report, which found that there are some sectors (such as energy and high-tech) driving demand for construction, while a few major cities are starting to record increased levels of speculative office building developments.

| Jul 19, 2013

Must see: 220 years of development on Capitol Hill in one snazzy 3D flyover video

The Architect of the Capitol this week released a dramatic video timeline of 220 years of building development on Capitol Hill.

| Jul 18, 2013

Top Local Government Sector Construction Firms [2013 Giants 300 Report]

Turner, Clark Group, PCL top Building Design+Construction's 2013 ranking of the largest local government sector contractor and construction management firms in the U.S.

| Jul 18, 2013

Top Local Government Sector Engineering Firms [2013 Giants 300 Report]

STV, URS, AECOM top Building Design+Construction's 2013 ranking of the largest local government sector engineering and engineering/architecture firms in the U.S.

| Jul 18, 2013

Top Local Government Sector Architecture Firms [2013 Giants 300 Report]

Stantec, HOK, IBI Group top Building Design+Construction's 2013 ranking of the largest local government sector architecture and architecture/engineering firms in the U.S.

| Jul 18, 2013

Top State Government Sector Construction Firms [2013 Giants 300 Report]

PCL, Clark Group, Turner top Building Design+Construction's 2013 ranking of the largest state government sector contractor and construction management firms in the U.S.

| Jul 18, 2013

Top State Government Sector Engineering Firms [2013 Giants 300 Report]

Jacobs, AECOM, URS top Building Design+Construction's 2013 ranking of the largest state government sector engineering and engineering/architecture firms in the U.S.

| Jul 18, 2013

Top State Government Sector Architecture Firms [2013 Giants 300 Report]

Stantec, Perkins+Will, HNTB top Building Design+Construction's 2013 ranking of the largest state government sector architecture and architecture/engineering firms in the U.S.

| Jul 18, 2013

Top Federal Government Sector Construction Firms [2013 Giants 300 Report]

Clark Group, PCL, Hensel Phelps top Building Design+Construction's 2013 ranking of the largest federal government sector contractor and construction management firms in the U.S.

Currently Reading

New study shows employees aren't happier working in green buildings

Tags

| Jul 19, 2013

| Jul 19, 2013

| Jul 19, 2013

| Jul 18, 2013

| Jul 18, 2013

| Jul 18, 2013

| Jul 18, 2013

| Jul 18, 2013

| Jul 18, 2013

| Jul 18, 2013

Most Popular Content

Magazine Subscription

Get our Newsletters

Follow BD+C: