flexiblefullpage
billboard
interstitial1
catfish1
Currently Reading

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

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

Occupant satisfaction with LEED-certified office building environments appears to decline with time, according to UC Berkeley reseachers.


By UC Berkeley | May 14, 2014
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“Does this mean that green certification is outdated, just costly or even useless?”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.

Tags

Related Stories

| Feb 23, 2011

“School of Tomorrow” student design competition winners selected

The American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS) and Kawneer Company, Inc. announced the winners of the “Schools of Tomorrow” student design competition. The Kawneer-sponsored competition, now in its fifth year, challenged students to learn about building materials, specifically architectural aluminum building products and systems in the design of a modern and creative school for students ranging from kindergarten to sixth grade. Ball State University’s Susan Butts was awarded first place and $2,500 for “Propel Elementary School.”

| Feb 23, 2011

Barbie's newest career: Architect

Mattel is introducing Architect Barbie this fall, following a campaign that started in 2002 to give the iconic blond a design job. The doll comes in a signature pink outfit, but if she's truly hoping to pass an an architect, shouldn't she be wearing all black?   

| Feb 23, 2011

Green building on the chopping block in House spending measure

Bryan Howard, Legislative Director of the U.S. Green Building Council, blogs about proposed GOP budget cuts that could impact green building in the commercial sector.

| Feb 23, 2011

Architecture Billings hold steady after two months of improving conditions

After showing positive momentum during the fourth quarter of 2010, the Architecture Billings Index (ABI) slipped almost four points in January. The January ABI score was 50.0, which is down from a reading of 53.9 the previous month, but still reflects stable demand for design services. Any score above 50 indicates an increase in billings.

| Feb 22, 2011

LEED Volume Program celebrates its 500th certified Pilot Project

More than 500 building projects have certified through the LEED Volume Program since the pilot launched in 2006, according to the U.S. Green Building Council. The LEED Volume Program streamlines the certification process for high-volume property owners and managers, from commercial real estate firms, national retailers and hospitality providers, to local, state and federal governments.

| Feb 22, 2011

HDR Architecture names four healthcare directors

Four senior professionals in HDR Architecture’s healthcare program have been named Healthcare directors.

| Feb 15, 2011

Iconic TWA terminal may reopen as a boutique hotel

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey hopes to squeeze a hotel with about 150 rooms in the space between the old TWA terminal and the new JetBlue building. The old TWA terminal would serve as an entry to the hotel and hotel lobby, which would also contain restaurants and shops.

| Feb 15, 2011

New Orleans' rebuilt public housing architecture gets mixed reviews

The architecture of New Orleans’ new public housing is awash with optimism about how urban-design will improve residents' lives—but the changes are based on the idealism of an earlier era that’s being erased and revised.

boombox1
boombox2
native1

More In Category

Construction Costs

Data center construction costs for 2024

Gordian’s data features more than 100 building models, including computer data centers. These localized models allow architects, engineers, and other preconstruction professionals to quickly and accurately create conceptual estimates for future builds. This table shows a five-year view of costs per square foot for one-story computer data centers. 


Sustainability

Grimshaw launches free online tool to help accelerate decarbonization of buildings

Minoro, an online platform to help accelerate the decarbonization of buildings, was recently launched by architecture firm Grimshaw, in collaboration with more than 20 supporting organizations including World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), RIBA, Architecture 2030, the World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) and several national Green Building Councils from across the globe.



Healthcare Facilities

Watch on-demand: Key Trends in the Healthcare Facilities Market for 2024-2025

Join the Building Design+Construction editorial team for this on-demand webinar on key trends, innovations, and opportunities in the $65 billion U.S. healthcare buildings market. A panel of healthcare design and construction experts present their latest projects, trends, innovations, opportunities, and data/research on key healthcare facilities sub-sectors. A 2024-2025 U.S. healthcare facilities market outlook is also presented.

halfpage1

Most Popular Content

  1. 2021 Giants 400 Report
  2. Top 150 Architecture Firms for 2019
  3. 13 projects that represent the future of affordable housing
  4. Sagrada Familia completion date pushed back due to coronavirus
  5. Top 160 Architecture Firms 2021